Before the Beginning, and After
by TheRoseShadow21
Summary: At Asgard Academy there is a club that boasts great skill, tasked with dealing with those who might threaten the livelihood of the students by any means necessary. Their name is Niðavellir, and second-year student Arisa Hiyama has just been appointed their leader. (Fanfic for and inspired by Niðavellir's entries into the Magia District Battle. Rated T to be safe.)
1. Part 1

**UPDATE 08/09/2017: Since this isn't a oneshot anymore (clearly), I've edited the author's notes here to reflect this. The majority of the bottom author's note will be transferred to the third chapter as and when I get that up, though the cast list will remain where it is.  
Also, I will be adding some coverart (drawn by me) on Sunday, or possibly Monday depending.**

* * *

 **So, I sort of have a thing for chorus battles, in that I like coming across different chorus battles on YouTube and watching their entries and just being wowed at how amazing they look and sound (because seriously there is some _amazing_ stuff out there). It's even more fun when I come across one that has just started or is in progress, because then I sort of get to follow its progress, which is even more fun. The Magia District Battle (MDB) is one such ongoing chorus battle, and my favourite group competing in that battle is called Niðavellir. I have enjoyed both their entries so far, and additionally, both sparked something in my imagination, which made me think I should write a story for them, just for the fun of it. **

**Hence, this: a fanfic for a chorus battle entry.**

 **Initially this was just a one-shot for their Round 1 entry 'JINGO JUNGLE' , but then the Round 2 entry 'gravityWall' came out and then this spiralled out of control. I say spiralled out of control, because even so it should have still stayed a two-parter but when the document ended up being over double the size this part was I knew I had to split it. I shouldn't be surprised by this anymore but oh well. Here you have it. Part 2B (the third part) should be finished in a week and a bit, possibly two weeks.**

 **Given the central concept of the MDB is mahou shoujo, and I'm not the best at writing fantasy related things or action/fighting scenes, I'm not 100% sure why this was the entry (or even why this was the chorus battle of all the ones I've watched), that I ended up wanting to write a fic for, but somehow I managed. I did focus a little more heavily on more slice-of-life/ character-interaction based things rather than the fantasy or action. So in some places it's not the best thing I've ever written, but I did my best to make sure it was as good quality as I could get it despite that.**

 **I also decided to give the different members of the group character names, partially because I just felt like it would flow better and make more sense, and partially because I like making up names for characters. And I decided on Japanese names, partially because I am assuming Asgard Academy is a Japanese school in a very different Japan, and partially because I particularly happen to like Japanese names. Some names I've made up are sort-of derived from the members' names (aliases? channel names? Whatever.), the rest are just completely made from scratch, so to speak. But in any case, I have put a 'cast list' at the bottom of this so you will know who is who, and their powers are listed too.**

 **Anyway, I do not own _anything_ about Niðavellir's entries, the credit goes to all of the amazing people involved in that ( _PLEASE_ go watch them, they are on Arietta's Youtube channel, which is AriettaIsBored). The plot description is also an adaptation of part of the video's description, so I cannot take credit for that either. As for the story's title, that's from a section heading from Neil Gaiman's 'Norse Mythology' (Given the group's name, I figured that refreshing myself on a little Norse mythology would be useful so I was rereading the book around the time I was writing this first part). The point is: All I own here are the results of my overactive imagination, and my writing style. **

**But anyway, I hope that you will all enjoy this fic! And if you are one of the members of Niðavellir, I wish you luck in the final round-I am so excited to see what you come up with (and who knows, maybe it'll spawn a fourth part to this fic!)**

* * *

 _Arisa _

Being a _mahou shoujo_ wasn't like being a student, or a nurse, or any other calling a person could have. Those things typically had defined hours and roles, a time to be a student and a nurse and a time to be whoever you were off shift. Being a _mahou shoujo_ was not like that. You either were one, or you weren't, putting aside the spectrum of magical abilities that existed in the world. No matter where you were, or what you were doing, you were always a _mahou shoujo_. You couldn't clock out of it. That's what Arisa believed, in any case, and it was this belief she lived by.

That was why, two days before she went back to Asgard Academy to start life as a second-year, she was sprawled out on her bedroom floor with her best friend Chika, trying to figure out how to deal with the crisis that the club Niðavellir was currently in.

"Ah, why did they decide to put me in charge?" Arisa burst out, putting down her pen and staring at the piece of paper that she hadn't actually written anything down on. _We're going in circles._ Chika propped her chin in her hand and regarded her for a minute.

"I didn't know the answer to that the last ten times you asked, Ari." Chika responded eventually, grinning wryly.

"I mean, you'd think that this was one of the situations where the teachers should step in and help but…" Arisa carried on, half-ignoring her. Then, she sighed and sat up.

"Okay, let's try again. There's us, and Kawamura-sempai, and Nishimori-kun too. "

"And Shiho." Chika reminded her. Arisa nodded at that.

"Yep, Shiho." She agreed, though she hadn't really needed reminding. Shiho was _always_ there. Arisa smiled for a moment, thinking of the eccentric alchemist, but the smile soon disappeared as she thought of Niðavellir again.

"That's still only just five of us, that's not enough, is it? We're meant to be an _army_. Oh, I give up."

They had been an army last year, when she and Chika had been unsure first years newly recruited into Niðavellir. But the 12 other students who had been third years then had now of course graduated, and there had been a few other students in Kawamura's year, but one had died last summer, and the rest had all moved away for a variety of reasons. For some reason, though there were a good many _mahou shoujo_ students and some specialists who had been considered possible new Niðavellir members in Arisa's year, none of them had been recruited by the last leader-only Arisa, Chika and Nishimori.

Arisa sighed, and with a flourish, summoned her magical cat, Riki, and let the little kitten curl up on her lap. Chika grinned and reached out to stroke her.

"Should we go visit Shiho, then?" Chika asked casually.

"No way, can you imagine it-'Just because I live in the school doesn't mean it's term-time all year around'? " Arisa pulled a face at the very thought.

"Hah, I s'pose you're right." Chika drawled and yawned, before also deciding to sit up. "Hey, what about Jeff?"

"Jeff?" Arisa echoed.

"Yes, _Jeff_." Chika rolled her eyes. "He's _mahou shoujo_ too, remember. We can ask him to join, which'll at least be a start."

Arisa didn't say anything to this, looking down at the magical cat on her lap and absently curling a lock of her long turquoise hair around her finger. Chika grinned and continued.

"Besides, you're going mad worrying in here. Let's at least stretch our legs a little before I go completely bonkers too."

Releasing the lock of her hair, Arisa looked up at her best friend and blinked for a moment before smiling and standing up, clicking her fingers to send Riki back again.

"You know what, that's a good idea. Let's do it."

 **…**

The lunchtime rush had just subsided when they arrived, and so The Sunshine Café was very quiet. Jeff was at the counter, watching the surroundings. When he spotted them, his face brightened ten-fold.

"Hiyama-Chan, Kato-Chan!" he called in greeting.

"Good afternoon, Jeff-kun." Arisa smiled back. She still wasn't entirely sure why they all called him Jeff, except that Chika had started it, when they'd met him almost a year ago, claiming that he just 'looked like a Jeff, y'know?'. _I still don't know what a 'Jeff' typically looks like, either,_ she mused as she remembered.

"Yo, Jeff!" Chika saluted as they both took a seat at the counter. Jeff just grinned at them.

"Yo yourself. I like the t-shirt, Kato-Chan." He replied, pointing. Chika looked down at her white t-shirt with the neon-blue wording of 'Even Magical Girls Wanna Have Fun' and grinned.

"Thanks. Want one yourself?"

"Nope, I'm fine. So, do you ladies want anything to drink? Or to eat?"

"Hmm…." Arisa looked up at the menu boards behind the tills. "I'll go for the hot chocolate. Chi-Chan, what are you having?"

"Ah, maybe the iced coffee with those funky syrups? Which flavour haven't I had for a while?"

"Strawberry." Jeff replied instantly.

"Cool, then I'll have that. I dunno if I'm hungry though, I'll figure that out later."

Arisa chuckled at that, and Jeff smiled, saluting them.

"Well, I'll rustle that right up for you. So, what's the troubled face for, Hiyama-Chan?" he asked as he went to start preparing their drinks. Arisa stared at his back in astonishment.

"Is it that obvious?" she asked.

"Ari, you're practically a walking book." Chika quipped. Arisa turned to mock-glare at her, but Chika just smiled innocently, bright green eyes sparkling mischievously, and she just sighed.

"Niðavellir." She said, simply. Jeff didn't say anything for a moment as he continued working at their drinks, but then eventually he turned, two cups in hand.

"I heard from Nishimori-kun, you're the leader now, right?" he asked as he brought the drinks over and set them down on the counter.

"Yeah." Arisa sighed, picking up her cup and starting to sip from it. As with any drink Jeff made, it was excellent, and for a moment, she felt calm.

"Congratulations. You'll be great at it, I'm sure." Jeff said warmly. "You've always been good at organising things and keeping us together."

"There isn't even much of a club to organise though, that's the problem." Arisa explained.

"Ah." Jeff considered this for a moment, but then noticed another customer waiting and went to serve them. Once he'd whipped up the customer's large cappuccino, given them the slice of carrot cake they'd asked for and rung up the given money on the till, he came back to Arisa and Chika, and leant over.

"Would you like me to join your ranks? That would help, wouldn't it?"

"It would, but…are you absolutely sure? What about your mum?"

Arisa knew that Jeff and his mum Ranko mostly ran The Sunshine Café alone, with only a few part-time staff members to help during the weekdays. And Jeff was all that Ranko had, and vice versa. Plus, Arisa felt an obligation to give Jeff the opportunity to walk away. She could not afford to do that too with every potential recruit, but Jeff was one of her closest friends after Chika. If she owed such a courtesy to anyone, it was him.

"Niðavellir needs help, right? In any case, it might be interesting to see if I can use my spelled drinks for a purpose other than brightening customers' moods." Jeff replied with such ease Arisa was taken aback.

"Well…thanks, Jeff-kun."

"Anything for you. Only thing is, my mum'll skin you alive if I'm unable to do any of my shifts." Jeff smiled. Arisa and Chika took one look at each other and burst out laughing. The idea of sweet, gentle Ranko Takenaka flaying _anybody_ was almost preposterous. On the other hand, she was a mother, and sometimes there was nothing more fearsome than a mother protecting her child.

"So, Jeff, now you're an official member, can I interrogate you for any possibly relevant gossip?" Chika grinned at him once he'd calmed down.

"Relevant gossip, huh….?"

Jeff thought about this for a moment while Arisa and Chika continued to drain their drinks.

"Well, two things come to mind. First one isn't gossip so much. A boy came in with his little sisters a few hours ago, he bought them both chocolate muffins and milkshakes while he took a juice and one of the scones. Anyway, the older of the little sisters got a bit upset, saying to him that she wanted to read his tealeaves-he tried to hush her up pretty quickly but I still heard, but yeah, I went over and told the little girl that I'd drink some tea and then she could read tea-leaves for me, so I did that and talked to the boy a little bit. I didn't learn his name, but I know he's going to be starting at Asgard on Monday, and it seems like precognitive abilities run in his family. "

"Precognitive abilities, huh? That could be useful." There were a wide, wide range of different precognitive abilities a _mahou shoujo_ could have. But it didn't mean that someone showing such abilities was necessarily a _mahou shoujo_ , either, it was just as likely they were a specialist. Some basics were able to master various precognitive magic types, but if the boy had been a basic he wouldn't have been admitted into Asgard. _So, that sounds promising._

"What did the kid tell you?" Chika wanted to know.

"A bunch of random things…she was only little after all...but she said 'you're going to be a hero soon'. I'm just going to take that to mean she was referring to Niðavellir, considering I've just joined." Jeff winked at Arisa, and she smiled back, as she sipped the last dregs of her hot chocolate.

"Anyway, the second thing really was just gossip I overheard from two girls our age, while I was clearing plates away. Apparently, Kotone Suzuki's transferring into Asgard this year. "

"Excuse me, _what_?" Chika coughed violently at this, and Arisa hurriedly slapped her back. " _The_ Kotone Suzuki?"

"Yep. Wild, right? But they say she's a spellsinger _mahou shoujo_ , right?"

"Yes, they do." Arisa confirmed, thinking of the Kotone Suzuki concert that had more or less confirmed this suspicion. Someone who had been able to save the lives of her fans under such pressure was definitely a _mahou shoujo_ , no two ways about that. And if she was transferring to Asgard Academy, she'd definitely have to be a part of Niðavellir _._

"Well, that's probably a start, right?" Jeff said. "When Monday comes around, then we can start scouting. I'll woo them over with coffee."

"Ah, that wouldn't be-"

"I don't mean to _coerce_ them. Just to sweeten the deal."

"Well, fair enough then, right?" Chika elbowed Arisa and grinned again. "Hey, can I have a refill? Same flavour?"

"Sure thing. Hiyama-Chan?"

"No, this is fine….can I have a slice of brownie though?"

"Sure? The regular one, fudge, or salted caramel?"

"I'll try salted caramel. That one's new, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Mum decided to try it out and see how it goes. It's hard to tell after only a few days, but people seem to like it. Here you go."

"Thanks." Arisa took a bite as soon as she got it. "Oh, it's really good."

"Mum'll be pleased to know that." Jeff said, looking equally pleased.

For a little while, in between serving customers and occasionally going to collect and clean plates, Jeff chatted to Arisa and Chika about somewhat more mindless things, until the crowd picked up a little and the girls decided they needed to go.

"So, we'll see you in school bright and early on Monday." Arisa told Jeff.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Perfect. Say hello to Ranko-san for me, won't you?"

"Of course-she'll be sorry to have missed you."

"Oh, hey, wait!" Chika burst out unexpectedly. "Jeff, did you spell our drinks?"

Jeff let out a small sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, just a little. For inspiration. I think you'll need a little of it, won't you? The both of you?"

"Oh. Yeah, I guess…" Arisa blinked.

"Ah, don't worry. It's not the inconvenient middle-of-the-night sort of inspiration that isn't any use. This inspiration is the sort that'll come to you when needed, Hiyama-Chan."

"Huh, you can distinguish between the two? That's hardcore." Chika enthused.

"Well, I gave that type of inspiration to Hiyama-Chan. Kato-Chan, you've just got the standard middle-of-the-night sort of inspiration." Jeff teased.

Chika stared for a good, long moment and then laughed.

"Jeff, you're an arsehole, you know that?"

 **…**

 _Kou_

Once Misa and Maki were tucked up in bed and fast asleep, Kou scurried out to the back garden so he could sit outside. It was a clear night, one in which he'd be able to see the stars perfectly, and he didn't want to miss the opportunity. He loved the stars, not just for the information he could glean from them or the stories they contained, but just how beautiful they were.

 _A hero, huh?_ The moment he sat down on the back door step, he was thinking of it again-the future that Misa had read for him in his tealeaves. It sounded almost exactly the same as the tealeaves that Misa had read for the kind barista at the coffee shop they'd stopped by yesterday morning, but when he'd pressed Misa she'd said that was because they were both going to be the same sort of hero, that their paths would meet because of it, albeit in more childlike language than that. And he'd more-or-less confirmed it by doing a reading on himself this morning before the girls woke up, using his cards.

Of course, as was the way with all kinds of fortune telling, there were no precise details of what this entailed, or how, exactly, he would be a hero. About all he could tell for sure was that it would not be a one-time thing. It would be a role he carried for life, just as he would now always be the one responsible for his little sisters. _But the barista…._ why would a barista also be a hero? Not that having skill with beverages precluded you from doing good, but it still seemed strange to him that they could possibly have interlinked futures. _Unless…..didn't he say he's a student at Asgard Academy?_

 _Ah, alright, let's test it._ Steeling himself, he breathed long, slow breaths, in and out as his father had taught him so long ago, letting his mind clear out while he stared up at the stars. And eventually, once he was empty, the images came.

… _A girl with red-and-black hair wielding a scythe, while he was using his cards to aim magical attacks at the same enemy the girl was attacking…_

… _Sitting at a table with the red-and-black-haired girl, the barista, an unusually short woman dressed in an alchemist's typical get up, and a few others, including a friendly girl with very long green-blue hair standing at a whiteboard as they brainstormed a battle plan of some sorts…._

… _Standing staring out at a flattened piece of land with a group of others, one hand gripping that of the long-haired girl, the other being held by a pretty girl with cat ears, a sense of both pride and regret churning in his chest while the wind ruffled all their clothes and their hair…_

… _Being down on the ground, winded by a painful blow, while a churlish looking young man wielding different blades stepped in front of him and aimed blows at the same foe who had knocked him down…_

… _The whole group sitting together in the same café the barista worked at, taking up all the counter seats while the barista alternated between hanging out with them and serving the other customers, a moment of peace after a particularly turbulent week…_

The images flickered and switched around with each other, and some were a bit blurry at the edges. And soon after, they disappeared, leaving Kou alone in the night.

But even so, they were clear enough

 _So…definitely something to do with Asgard Academy_ He wondered. _It has to be. Some sort of club, perhaps?_ Asgard Academy was sure to have all sorts of clubs out trying to recruit first years, just like any high school did, regardless of how magic-oriented they were. He would make sure to drop in to all of them. Sooner or later, he'd find them. The barista, and all the others he'd just seen in his visions. And then perhaps he'd know what the tealeaves and the reading meant.

 _But that's not going to work if you don't wake up on time,_ Kou thought wryly as he yawned _._ It was pretty late, and he'd be busy enough the next morning anyway. Misa was starting third grade, she could walk to school alone, but Maki needed to be taken to day-care before he could go to school. So, he got up, and after taking one last look at the shining stars, he stepped back inside and went up to bed.

 **…**

 _Kotone_

"Now, this is the floor that Niðavellir occupies. Their main meeting room is the largest one, at the end of the corridor, but you'll see there are other rooms for other purposes as well. Hiyama-san and Murakami-san will most likely give you a proper tour later. "

Kotone strained to keep up with the long-legged, brisk-paced Principal Asakura, but somehow managed it. _Niðavellir, huh?_ From what she understood, it was something of an exclusive club in Asgard Academy, but that was all she'd really absorbed. She hadn't really had any time to absorb _anything_. It had only been two months ago that her spurned fan had decided to try to get revenge by spraying bullets into her audience, only two months since she'd managed to sing a protective spell over them meaning only four concert-goers had suffered, and only with minor injuries. Only two months since she realised that it meant she wasn't just a specialised magic-user, but a _mahou shoujo._ Only two months since it had been decided that once the last school year was over, she'd transfer out to Asgard Academy, which was much more magic oriented than her last school had been.

Only two months. That was hardly any time to absorb _anything._ She just had to hope that she'd actually be of use to the members of Niðavellir. She couldn't imagine quite how she could be, even after that concert. But she supposed that the adults of this world were the experts, so she'd go along with it. And hopefully, make some new friends in the process. Kotone touched her cat ears self-consciously. _Hopefully these'll stand out less here, too_.

When they reached the door, Principal Asakura knocked loudly on it, and Kotone hurriedly smoothed out her uniform. A moment later, it was opened by a girl with a very friendly looking face. She had long, long turquoise hair done up into two rather cheerful looking ponytails. There were slight bags under her eyes, but she still managed to look bright as she greeted them.

"Come in Principal Asakura. We've just finished renewing the charms and we're talking about recruitment."

"That's good, very good." Principal Asakura said briskly. "I haven't got time to stay, but I wanted to bring you your latest member. I'm sure you'll recognise Kotone Suzuki-san. "

"Ah yes, I do. Welcome to Asgard Academy, and to Niðavellir! I'm Arisa Hiyama. Come in, Suzuki-san."

"Oh, so the note wasn't a prank then?" Kotone heard a voice ask from inside the room.

"Why would the note be a prank?" Another asked, slightly exasperated by the sounds of it.

"Hah, I _told_ you, didn't I?" A third voice proclaimed. "Jeff gets all the best gossip!"

"A-ah, sure, Hiyama-san. " Kotone blocked out the sounds of the conversation to reply to Arisa. Just before she entered the room though, she turned to thank Principal Asakura, but he was already striding back down the corridor, so she just shrugged ruefully. Arisa closed the door behind her, and then went to sit down, while Kotone looked around.

The room was large, but simply furnished, simply boasting a large wooden table with a number of wooden chairs around it, a set of drawers and a filing cabinet leaning against one wall and a cupboard of some sort against another of the walls, next to the only window in the room, which was large enough to let enough light into, making the room seem at least a little welcoming. On the wall opposite the table, there was a large whiteboard with a holder for a number of markers and a board eraser, as well as posters of two maps-one looked like a building plan, and the other was a map of the town. Curiously, for some reason there were a small pile of sleeping bags and large beanbags tucked away in the furthest corner of the room, and a bobble-head toy of the Grim Reaper sitting on the windowsill, currently still.

"Come, Suzuki-san, please do sit down." This came from a boy with slightly tousled blond hair and a sort of softness about him. Even his voice was soft and pleasant, the type that Kotone could keep listening to all day if she was so inclined.

"A-ah, thank you." She stuttered out.

Kotone sat down in a seat next to Arisa, and observed the people who were also members of Niðavellir. There was Arisa, and the soft boy, two other girls, another boy who wore his blazer around his shoulders like a cape. There was another girl as well, but she was the only one not wearing school uniform-having opted instead for an outfit that incorporated a blue cloak drawn together with a bow-and somehow she seemed older and different, but Kotone couldn't quite put her finger on it. _What is it?_ It didn't help that there was also a small beige dog curled up on her head.

"I'm sure Principal Asakura explained everything anyway, but is there anything you need to ask about Niðavellir?" Arisa asked. "We may as well get basic questions out of the way before we get right down to business?"

"Uh…." Kotone thought. _I don't know anything! But, they seem nice, I don't want to make them mad…_

"What are we going to do, specifically?" Was the best she could come up with eventually. Arisa smiled.

"Well, hopefully nothing for now. Right now, we're trying to get our numbers up so that we can actually function. You see, the bulk of the group last year was all third years, and of course they've graduated now. "

"Of course, the last leader didn't take this into consideration, so that's why there's only Kawamura-san from the current third year now, and then us." The other boy spoke up.

"Naturally, if something comes up, we will fight. But…." Arisa said. "Well, I don't really want to overwhelm you with so much when you've only just started in this school in the first place. But this is the reality."

"if it makes you feel any better, even though I've known these guys for longer, I've only just joined Niðavellir myself, so we're kind of in the same boat." The soft boy spoke up, smiling at her as though he was picking up on her confusion.

"O-oh." Of course, Kotone still wasn't sure what was going on, but she was starting to put the pieces together. _What…what do I do? Two months ago was one thing, but…._

"Do you not think introductions might be a good idea?" This came from the woman, who stared Kotone down with her very large blue eyes. Arisa clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Yes, of course, Shiho! I'm so sorry, Suzuki-san." Arisa turned and looked apologetically at Kotone, who was only able to shake her head in astonishment.

"Then, I'll go first." The woman said. She jumped off her seat and walked over to Kotone, and that was when she realised what the issue was. The woman was short. Very short. And looked a lot younger than Kotone had realised. She held out her hand and gave Kotone a look that made her seem…well, taller.

"I'm Shiho Murakami." She said matter-of-factly. "It's good to meet you, Suzuki-san. I've heard a lot about you, and I like your music. This is Fen, my dog. He's also a fan."

"A-ah, thank you!"

"And it might also be useful for you to know that I live here. With Fen."

"I-I'm sorry?" _Did I hear that right?_ Shiho didn't appear to notice her new confusion (and the dog did not react either), and simply held out her hand, clearly waiting for a handshake. Swallowing down her confusion, Kotone reached out and gripped her hand to shake it.

"W-well, Murakami-san, I hope we'll get along well."

"Likewise. And please just call me Shiho. 'Murakami-san' makes me remember I'm old."

 _?_

With that, Shiho went back to her seat and went back to observing the proceedings. Fen lifted its- _his?_ -head up for a moment and seemed to smirk at her, before becoming impassive again.

"Okay, so I've already introduced myself, but also I should add that I'm the leader of Niðavellir. That's Chika Kato, essentially my right-hand-man." Arisa started, pointing at the girl whose hair was red on one side, and black on the other. The girl-Chika-grinned, her electric-green eyes sparkling mischievously as she sized Kotone up.

"And best friend, and don't you forget it. But I'm sure we'll get along fine too, especially once we're out slaying people together." Chika proclaimed, grinning as she rubbed her hands together somewhat evilly.

"Uhh…"

"Please don't mind her bloodthirstiness, she's a reaper." The boy with the glasses said, sighing and rolling his purplish-blue eyes, to which Chika only pulled a horrifically silly face. Kotone snuck a look at the bobble-head toy on the windowsill, and looked back at Chika, wide-eyed. _Oookay…._

"I'm Rei Nishimori, I'm a second year like Hiyama-san and Kato-san. My _mahou shoujo_ power is machinist." The boy continued on. "We're glad to have you on board."

"My name's Kenjiro Takenaka," the soft boy said. "But thanks to Kato-Chan, these days most people call me Jeff, so you can too if you like."

"And to round off, I'm Naoko Kawamura, the sole third year here." The final girl, with short, shaggy sandy hair and serious green eyes stated this bluntly, and didn't smile. _Ah, but she seems alright._

"It's good to meet you all." Kotone said, inclining her head slightly. "I really do hope we can get along, and that I'll be able to help…"

"There's no two ways about it, you _will_ be of help." Naoko stated bluntly.

"Yes, of course, but don't worry, Suzuki-san, you'll be fine." Jeff reassured.

"Suzuki-san." Kotone looked over at Shiho. "Whatever doubts you're having, you know the answer to them already."

"I do?" Kotone could only blink for a moment. Then she thought of that day two months ago, of how once she had realised what was happening, her reaction had been instantaneous, instinctive, like breathing. _And it worked. I saved them._

"Yes I do. Well, I won't let you down, I promise." She said passionately, looking around at all of them.

"That's what we want to hear!" Arisa exclaimed decisively, before getting up. "I think we ought to move on as quickly as possible, so I'll start on drawing up our gameplan for the next few days. Before that, any more questions, Suzuki-san?"

Kotone pursed her lips and thought about this for a moment, but then shook her head. _I'll learn as I go along. And I won't let them down._

 _I won't._

 **…**

The first part of the morning passed by pretty quickly. Jeff had lent her a notebook and she'd made careful notes of everything Arisa had gone over during the meeting, not wanting to have everything go over her head again. Then, it had been time to start the entrance ceremony and discover what classes they were, so all of them (except, for some reason, Shiho) had gone down for that, upon which she'd been instantly swamped by about fifty girls from all three years wanting to know if she was really Kotone Suzuki, and then asking for autographs. She obliged as much as she could, but after a while it started to get overwhelming, at which point she was thankfully rescued by Chika, who she noticed most of the students seemed to be scared of.

And actually, it seemed that most of the students were scared of all of the Niðavellir members. Except for her, but of course she knew that part of that was down to her status as an idol, and the simple fact they hadn't clocked on to the fact of her membership yet. Understandable, considering she herself had just joined. The fear was mixed in a clear respect, and it was not as if others didn't talk to them at all-Arisa and Jeff in particular seemed to at least be able to make small talk with other students-but all the same, it was there. She wondered what it felt like, but knew she'd discover it for herself soon enough.

Once the entrance ceremony was over, she'd found out that she would be in Class 2-B, the same as Arisa and Rei, which was a relief. Even though she was used to singing for millions at a time, introducing herself to a new class was daunting. Having those two somewhat-familiar faces in the crowd was reassuring. But thankfully, everything else was uneventful until break time, when Arisa took her back to Niðavellir's floor to give her a tour of the rest of the place.

There was a room for practising their fighting and magic skills-with its bright green walls and lack of furnishings it essentially looked like a TV studio's Green Room, and when she pointed this out to Arisa, she laughed and stated that was exactly what they called it. Next door to it, were two small but very clean bathrooms-one for males, one for females-which was apparently for situations which required the club to stay in the school overnight (which was also the reason for the sleeping bags). Right opposite this was what Arisa described as their 'common room', a space with colourful sofas, a small bookshelf, plug sockets for charging phones, and a kitchen area. Much to her amusement, Kotone spotted a magazine tear-out poster that featured her stuck to one of the walls.

The room next door to it was one that Arisa walked straight past, after checking a small tag hung to the doorknob.

"Those are Shiho's quarters." Arisa explained. "She makes up her potions there, but it's also her living space. We're allowed to go in, but only if she's put up her 'Welcome' sign. Right now she's put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign. See?"

"Muraka-I mean, Shiho really lives _here_ , in Asgard Academy? I didn't think that's what she'd meant at all….why?" Kotone couldn't hide her surprise as she examined the sign, and Arisa shrugged heavily.

"I have no idea why. That's how it's always been. _Always_. For as long as Asgard Academy has been around, Shiho has too, and so has Fen, for that matter. We don't know why, and she won't say a thing, either. But yeah. If there's anything constant about Asgard Academy apart from Niðavellir and the magic-focused curriculum, then it's Shiho herself."

There was real affection in Arisa's voice as she said all of this, so much so that Kotone couldn't think of an appropriate way to respond, so she just waited.

"Okay, well, anyway." Arisa shook her head decisively. "That little door there just leads to a sort of spare storage cupboard, and we don't need that for now, but this is the last significant room…."

Kotone tilted her head curiously at Arisa's suddenly sombre tone, and didn't question it, simply following her into the room…and what she saw took her breath away.

The entire room was a shrine. Not to one person, but to many, many people. Dozens upon dozens of photos stared at her. All of them were of Asgard Academy students, and some of the photographs seemed many, many years old. All of them had their own flowers, bowl of rice, and incense.

"A…are these former Niðavellir students?"

"Yeah. From years past. Most of them are from many years past, before I was even born, let alone before I joined. But here…." Arisa walked up to a photograph of a girl with reddish-brown hair, freckles and very dark brown eyes.

"That's Erina Watanabe. She was in Kawamura-sempai's class. She was a shapeshifter."

Instinctively, Kotone found herself touching the cat ears that were an unfortunate effect of having shapeshifter genes running in the family. This girl didn't appear to have any anthromorphic features from her portrait, so most likely she had actual shapeshifting powers, rather than random genetic quirks.

"I…how did she die?" she almost whispered.

"The same way any one of us could die. On the frontline. A civilian who was trying to kidnap one of the _mahou shoujo_ third years. We saved him, of course. But we didn't notice Watanabe-sempai until it was too late."

"Oh. I…I'm sorry."

Arisa nodded at that distractedly, looking in to the distance for a moment. Then, she seemed to steel herself and walked back to the door, fixing Kotone with a penetrating look. Even despite the dark circles underneath them, her eyes blazed.

"Suzuki-san, if your motivation _ever_ falters, if you need something to remind you of your duty or why you should carry on…come here. Come to this room."

"A-ah, sure."

Kotone was relieved when they left the room and Arisa firmly shut the door.

"So…who looks after…?" Kotone gestured at the door as they started to walk back down to the main door.

"Oh, Shiho does. Every night, or if she doesn't get to in the night, then every morning. Occasionally, Chi-Chan will come in early to help."

In that moment, Kotone made a silent promise to herself. _When I can_ , _I will do the same too._

"Hey, Hiyama-san, can I ask a question. Only, it's kind of delicate…"

"Sure, shoot away."

"If…If Kawamura-san is still here, and there's Shiho too, then why were you elected as the leader of Niðavellir?"

"Well….." Arisa blew out a breath and considered this. "I told you, didn't I? Most of the responsibility of Niðavellir is down to us? Most of the staff don't intervene except in the direst of situations."

"Yes…"

"Well….the few times they do involve themselves in the running of Niðavellir and make decisions…..let's just say those decisions should not be questioned. Ever."

"Oh. I see." Kotone scrabbled for something else to say. "From what I'm seeing so far, you'll be a good leader, Hiyama-san."

"Thank you, Suzuki-san." Arisa looked pensive for a few moments longer, and then grinned broadly.

"Okay, now that you're familiar with Niðavellir's quarters, let's go back down. We've got some scouting to do, haven't we?"

"Yes, we do."

 **…**

 _Kou_

Kou had looked in most of the different club rooms hoping for a glimpse of any of the people he had seen in the visions, but he hadn't seen any of them at all. It was a little frustrating, but there were still all the outdoor exhibition stalls on the grounds, not to mention the tennis club and the cricket club, so he wasn't about to give up yet.

"You not found anything interesting yet, Kurosawa?" Just as he was going out the back to see the first of the other club exhibitions, he was joined by one of his new classmates, Atsuya Inoue.

"No, not yet, Inoue-kun." _Are you one of the ones?_ The slightly brushed back dark-blue hair, the rectangular glasses and the electric-blue eyes did all look like one of the people from the vision of what he still reckoned was a strategy meeting. But they were both first-years, so it was impossible.

 _Unless he's going to be a new joiner like you!_ The little voice in his head berated him. That, too, was a possibility, but he wasn't sure, so he'd keep it quiet for now.

"Have you found anything interesting?" Kou asked back. Atsuya shook his head.

"A few possibilities, nothing I want to commit to yet. Mind if I join you?"

"No, go for it."

"Thanks."

They fell into step, and remained in silence for a little while as they continued to walk. They reached the tennis court pretty quickly, and Kou scanned the people playing and watching, but didn't see any familiar faces. In any case, tennis was not something that interested either of them, so they quickly moved on. Atsuya lingered by the cricket ground, so Kou again used that to look, but with no results.

"Okay, time for the stalls." Atsuya declared.

They turned a corner to head down in the direction of the sounds of the activity around the stalls, but were stopped short by a classmate leaning against a wall, brooding over something. Another one that Kou recognised vaguely, this one possibly being boy with the blades who had defended him.

"Hey…erm, Nakagawa-kun, was it? Have you found a club to sign up to yet?" Kou asked cheerily.

"It's Nakahara, and no, I'm not interested in clubs." Haru responded gruffly, peering out at them from underneath his messy fringe.

"How come? There isn't any activity that interests you?" Atsuya asked.

"Oh, I have _interests_ , Inoue, just none of them are worth spending more time than necessary in school yet. Therefore, no clubs."

"Oh, but that…..I…." Kou's words failed him. _But…that can't be….? Then why did I see him…?_

"Oh? That seems to trouble you inordinately, Kurosawa. Why would that be?"

"I, well….." _Oh, to hell with it._ "Well, you see…."

And instantly, Kou launched into his explanation of what he had seen and who he was looking for, and why. Atsuya and Haru both listened closely, but while Atsuya was impressed and astonished, Haru was regarding him with an expression that couldn't be mistaken for anything but amusement. _At least they seem to believe me, though._

"So you're a precognitive _mahou shoujo_?" Atsuya asked when Kou had finished.

"I'm not sure if I'm specifically _mahou shoujo_ , or just an astrology specialist, but yes."

"Oh. Well, as it happens, I'm _mahou shoujo_ as well. My power is that of a sentinel." Atsuya said.

"How funny. I also happen to be _mahou shoujo_. I work with metal weaponry, and any type of metal." Even though Haru was smiling, his laugh did not sound particularly like a laugh.

"That…fits." Kou said.

"With your visions, you mean?" Atsuya asked. Kou nodded in confirmation. Haru laughed his not-very-laughter-like laugh again at that.

"Well, that's certainly…intriguing. So…." Haru drew out his words. "So, Kurosawa, how about we make a deal?"

"A….deal?" Kou had to hold back from asking 'a deal with the devil', even though right at this moment the term felt more than apt. Haru grinned, an expression that seemed unnatural on his face, so clearly more suited for moodiness.

"Yes, a _deal_. I'll tag along with you and Inoue here. If you find any of the key players from your visions and they actually confirm the existence of the type of alliance you claim they're part of, then I'll join that club with you. If not, then, well, I have no problem with simply forgetting that you exist and not getting involved in any club at all. And I'll even be nice, and let you have right until the last student leaves the building for the day. So then, how about it?"

 _This isn't a game,_ Kou wanted to retort. _You should take this seriously._ But still, the more he looked at his grumpy, deep-voiced classmate, the more he was sure that this was the boy who'd had his back in the visions. And the stars never lied. Never. So he nodded.

"It's a deal."

 **…**

Kou wasn't precisely sure how it all happened, but one minute he was standing at the Paranormal Studies Club's crepe stall chatting about poltergeists with the girl manning the stall while he wondered if he should buy a crepe or not-why a magic-oriented school needed a Paranormal Studies club was beyond him, much less why they thought the best way to advertise themselves was via crepes-and the next minute the hob that they were using to make hot caramel sauce had gone up in flames that would spread to the rest of the stall if nothing was done.

"Water! Does anyone have water?" he called out as the girl at the stall backed away in fear and others rushed out of harm's way. He looked around, but couldn't see anything nearby. There were the taps around the back of the school, but the fire would spread in the time he took to go there and grab a bucket…

"Inoue-kun, go to the tap and grab a bucket!" Kou called out. Inoue nodded and rushed away, and in the meantime Kou whipped off his blazer and put it on the fire, while Haru appeared to be starting a spell that cooled the pot down, before he picked it up casually and poured all the sauce from it into a bin-ignoring the astonished protests of the girl-and then put the pot out of harm's way, before taking off his own blazer and putting it over the blaze, which at least seemed to subdue it. For a moment, he wondered how on earth he'd afford a new blazer, but decided that was the least of his problems.

"It's okay," Kou tried to reassure onlookers. "We've got it contained, it'll be fine."

At that point, Atsuya came back with a rickety old bucket that was already spilling water, and without waiting for the command, threw the water over the fire. Some of it caught the girl, who shrieked, and a few drops fell on Kou and Haru, but the water fell where it was meant to, and just like that, the fire was out. The only traces of it were a charred pot and hob, and a somewhat fragile stall, whose wooden supports were now wobbli- _Oh, wait._

"Kid, get out of the way!" someone called out. Kou scrambled to do so as the stand started to creak and wobble even more, but then there was a flash of silver- _a scythe?-_ and with a few swift strikes, the stand collapsed in on itself, forming a pile of wood, plastic and metal. Losing his footing, Kou ended up on the ground, and he sat up to see what was going on.

"Holy hell, Kato-san, you didn't need to transform just to deal with a _cooking_ malfunction." A voice from someone out of sight scolded.

"Hey, this is the first thing I get to cut up this year, leave me be. Besides, it's better than flying debris knocking out half the student body, right?"

This reply came from a figure who had come to land gracefully on top of the pile that had once been the Paranormal Studies Club's crepe stall, her boot-clad feet confidently settled on the precarious surface. She grinned and looked around, and as Kou got up and dusted himself off, all he could do was stare.

Because he knew who she was.

"Kurosawa-kun, are you alright?"

Kou ignored Atsuya, and he just stared at the girl. Carrying her scythe casually, and clad in very a revealing leather outfit, she was somewhat taller than he was and very attractive with it. Her pretty face was currently set in a somewhat smug half-smile, and her electric-green eyes were compelling. Half her hair was red, and half of it was black. The girl from his visions. _You are real._ Noticing him stare, she grinned widely, and jumped down so she was standing in front of him.

"Did you like what you saw?" she teased. _You are real. It's all real. I've found you._ Even as he blushed and stepped back ever-so-slightly, he could only say one thing.

"It's you."

"Huh? What's me?"

"I…..you fight, don't you? To protect the school. You're part of a group."

"….You know about Niðavellir." The girl said after a beat, looking nonplussed, but still beautiful.

 _Niðavellir._ Kou let the word knock about his mind, to settle and become familiar. _Niðavellir._

The girl cleared her throat and grinned at him, and he realised that he had been staring, which made his cheeks heat up once again. Hurriedly, he cleared his throat and tried to compose himself.

"I wouldn't say _know_ , so much as I've _seen_. In the stars." Kou clarified.

The nonplussed look morphed swiftly, into one that looked very, very pleased. Without taking her eyes off of him, the girl turned out very slightly and called out, and a small group of students emerged from the crowds to join her. He recognised each and every one of them. Atsuya and Haru came to stand by his side, the latter holding onto the charred pot and manipulating it into shapes as though it was a lump of Maki's playdough. And as he learnt their names, and answered their questions and received answers to his own, it all started to fall into place. _Niðavellir._

 _This,_ Kou thought as he, Atsuya and Haru were eventually led back into the school to meet someone called 'Shiho', _this is where it starts._

 **…**

 _Chika_

When Chika came back from collecting the latest round of souls sending them safely onto the other side, she decided to climb back into school through the window, for no other reason than she could not be bothered to walk all the way up to Niðavellir's floor from the school entrance like a normal person. In any case, she had been airborne for most of her expedition, so it was a lot easier.

The window she chose was that of the common room, and to her delight it was already half open, so she just pushed it far enough that she could actually wiggle through.

"Told you she was going to do that, Hiyama-Chan." Jeff said almost instantly from the kitchen area. "Hey, Kato-Chan, do you want something to drink?"

"Yeah, sure, thanks. Don't spell it, just make it is as caffeinated as is physically possible." Chika said gratefully, sinking down next to Arisa. Naoko and Rei, who were sitting opposite having an animated discussion about rifles, looked up to greet her before swiftly returning to their conversation. Emiko, sitting with Arisa, smiled softly but said nothing as she nibbled at biscuits.

"Are you alright, Chi-Chan?" Arisa asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing too taxing." She said flippantly, because it was true. She'd been lucky in that sense. The latest assortment of souls she'd ended up collecting today had been much older people, wracked with terminal illnesses or otherwise just too old. In other words, their time had come at the right time. Of course, collecting all souls of people when they died, regardless of what their age was or the cause of their death was what she did, and gladly so. And of course she relished those moments when she could take the souls of the enemies she had just struck down. She was a reaper, after all.

But it didn't mean she didn't mourn people who died unfairly, or loved ones who died. It didn't mean that sometimes she didn't look into a baby's face and hope to see the reincarnated version of the soul of someone who'd died too soon. This was something that Arisa knew better than anyone. Even better, she sometimes thought, than other reapers she had encountered in her lifetime.

"Thanks for asking though, Ari." She added, thinking of this, grateful for it as always. Arisa smiled.

"No problem."

"Okay, so…two questions: First, what did I miss today? And second, were you and Jeff competing about whether I'd come in through a window?"

"Second question's easier to answer: Yes." Arisa grinned. "I didn't think you would, Jeff-kun was convinced that you would."

"Ahhh."

"So…Kato-san, I take it this is a particular habit you have?" Emiko, who had been sitting next to Arisa silently for all this time, spoke up. Chika grinned at the newest member of Niðavellir, who'd come to their attention by discreetly averting a potential drug scandal in a somewhat unconventional but utterly awesome way. Which of course involved magic.

"Ah, it's just convenient, you know?" she said. Emiko nodded warily.

"S…sure."

"But back to the first question-we had a short meeting, and we were mostly getting Chiba-san and Hamasaki-sempai acquainted with how we work, and the building and stuff, given that we didn't actually have time yesterday thanks to that basics-rights protestor. We also talked about the possibility of adding new fire-protection charms to the school. Shiho's working on them with Kurosawa-kun right now, actually."

Chika grinned at that. For no reason anyone could discern, Shiho had taken to Kou pretty quickly, much, much quicker than she'd taken to any of them (and they all knew full well that Shiho adored each and every one of them).

"So you've decided on which ones to implement?" Chika asked.

"For now, yes. And we've also made sure all the escape routes are cleared just in case all else fails. Kawamura-sempai, Hamasaki-sempai, Inoue-kun and Nishimori-kun have all been put in a schedule of guarding the school, at least until the culprit is caught. I will also be helping on various shifts, and of course Shiho will be keeping an eye on things from the inside."

"I'll help with guarding as well. I mean, I'm zipping around town often enough. Thanks, Jeff." Chika grinned as Jeff came by with her coffee, and she sipped at it, exclaiming at how strong it was. _Perfect._

"That's great, Chi-Chan. Right now, we're brushing up on combat skills. Nakahara-kun's testing out Mjollnir against Suzuki-san, and Hamasaki-sempai and Inoue-kun are practising against each other in the Green Room." Arisa continued.

"The three of us, and Kurosawa-kun just finished." Emiko spoke up, gesturing to herself, Arisa and Jeff. Chika nodded.

"Well, that explains why you're all transformed." She quipped.

"Speak for yourself." Came the cheerful response from Jeff.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Chika grinned and downed the rest of her coffee in a few large gulps. "So, he's named the new hammer Mjollnir? Go figure. I wonder how it'll fare against my scythe."

"Why not go try then?" Arisa suggested. Chika grinned and got up, taking her cup over to the kitchen area and giving it a quick rinse-over before leaving it to dry.

"Do you know what, I think I will. Wish me luck, Ari, Jeff, Chiba-san. "

She came back over, picked up her scythe from where she'd left it leaning next to the window, and then after she had done so, she saluted them and left to go to the Green Room, ready for a fight.

 **…**

Arisa

Arisa had never run so fast in her life. Just as they'd half-feared, half-hoped, the culprit behind the spate of arsons that had been targeting specialist and _mahou shoujo_ based organisations had turned up at Asgard Academy. And now they were there to apprehend him.

"Hiyama-san, Kato-san, Takenaka-kun, over here!" Rei was standing by a side entrance, already transformed and somewhat ragged, flagging them down. Atsuya and Hanayo were also waiting, shields and swords up and ready to flank them.

"He came in through this way?" Arisa checked.

"Yes, "Rei confirmed. "Suzuki-san put a spell over the building so that the culprit specifically won't be able to leave through any other possible exit, and she's inside with Shiho and Kawamura-sempai."

"It's true, it's the arson culprit?!" At this point, Emiko came racing around the corner along with Kou and Haru, the latter already transformed but also the only one not actually running. Emiko and Kou stopped to transform as soon as they'd caught up.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner, my youngest sister, I had trouble putting her to bed…"

"It's fine. The most important thing is that you're here now." Arisa said briskly. "Now, Nishimori-kun, lead the way!"

"Yes, ma'am."

Rei whipped around and ran at breakneck pace to lead, and the rest of them continued easily behind, Atsuya going up to join Rei at the front and Hanayo bringing up the rear to make sure they weren't taken down by a surprise attack, in perfect sync. Just like one of the various battle plans they'd worked out since the school year had started a month and a half ago.

Thanks to Jeff offering to join, Emiko being spotted after the drugs-bust incident, Kotone and Hanayo being transferred in specifically to join Niðavellir, Kou seeking them out and somehow managing to find Atsuya and Haru as well, Niðavellir's were now up to twelve. She would not make the same mistake as the last leader had and simply assume that number overall would be sufficient-they would all keep on looking for potential new members, such that Niðavellir would be able to stand alone once she had left the school. That, as much as serving her duties to Asgard Academy and being a good mahou shoujo, was her ultimate goal, one she would see out to the end.

 _This arsonist is going to get a real shock,_ Arisa thought wryly as she summoned three of her spirits that she thought would be most appropriate, sending them forward to seek it out. Because even though they were still at the bare minimum number, they were more than fine. They were perfect as they were, doing what needed to be done, by any means necessary.

They were Niðavellir. And they would never, _ever_ back down.

* * *

 **Cast List (please note, the character names are written in Western order):**

 **Arisa Hiyama-Arietta (summoner)**  
 **Chika Kato-Ashley (reaper)**  
 **Haru Nakahara-Daru (edgesmith)**  
 **Kou Kurosawa-Dantenkou (astrologer)**  
 **Kenjiro 'Jeff' Takenaka-Jefferz (barista)**  
 **Atsuya Inoue-Jordy (sentinel)**  
 **Emiko Chiba-pepi (merchant)**  
 **Rei Nishimori-Reyzon (machinist)**  
 **Kotone Suzuki-SingingSamine (spellsinger)**  
 **Hanayo Hamasaki-はな (knight)**  
 **Naoko Kawamura-Norma (gunslinger)**  
 **Shiho Murakami-Shiwo (alchemist)**

 **True confession-I have absolutely no idea what an edgesmith is supposed to be and couldn't actually find anything that could be relevant when I googled the term, so I decided that an edgesmith would just be a blacksmith, but edgy XD**


	2. Part 2A

_Haru_

Sitting on his bed in the bedroom of his childhood home, Haru was bored. _Bored, bored, bored_. He'd almost forgotten the quietness of where he'd grown up, the slow pace of life, the simplicity, the lack of magic. Asgard Academy had taken him in and swallowed him up in a whirlwind, and he'd loved it, absolutely loved it. He hadn't seen it coming, but there it was. The adventure he was looking for, right there in what they called Niðavellir (though, why they called it that when they were located up _above_ everything else he still didn't get). Giving in to his parents' request to come home for the summer hadn't seem like a really big deal at the time, he'd barely given it a thought when he'd muttered 'fine, okay' down the phone.

And now, here he was, bored out of his mind. He'd heard things were really heating up back there-Kotone and Kou sent him updates all the time, and it made his fingers itch. Made his heart race and fill him with the urge to just pack in the night and run back there and jump back in. The only thing stopping him was the sheer inconvenience it would cause, having to convince his parents that no, there wasn't anything wrong with him whatsoever, and he just couldn't be bothered with that rigmarole. They were already wary of him, a wariness he'd only tamped slightly by telling him about Kou and Atsuya, and even Kotone, people he supposed others would call friends in his situation. Giving them new reasons would not help him.

Naturally, he hadn't told them anything about Niðavellir.

 _What are they doing now?_ He picked his phone up from the mattress, and then unlocked the screen. There were no new messages, no new phone calls. No cries for help, telling him that he had to come back right at that minute, that he was needed. Just silence, emptiness. _Just like this place._

Haru sneered at the empty inboxes and tossed his phone back on the bed, then walked across the room, running his fingers across the tops of the boxes stacked against the wall, the things he'd made for the others-weapons to test, fixed versions of things that hadn't worked before, a few pet projects-before stopping at the calendar stuck above his desk.

Frowning, Haru touched the date circled on the calendar, then counted backwards, before his shoulders slumped in disappointment. _Three weeks. Three more weeks._ Until he could get back there, jump back into the fray.

His fingers itched, his heart raced, he just stared at the calendar, as if he could make the day come sooner through sheer will. _How will I survive, until then?_

…

 _Arisa_

"Alright then, we'd better go back, hadn't we?" Arisa sighed heavily as she gently shook her hands out of Kou's grip on one side, and Chika's on the other.

"He's gone, isn't he? Definitely gone?" Emiko asked waveringly.

"Well, considering we killed him and all, I'd say so, yeah." Chika drawled. Arisa slanted a look at her, but she wasn't meeting her eyes as she strolled forward, dragging her scythe behind her and paying it little heed as it dented the grass.

"I think we should be thinking about what to do with that." Naoko sighed, pointing at the now completely flattened playing fields.

Arisa frowned but said nothing as she stared at it again. _Worse, it could have been so much worse._ It could have been part of the school building that was now flattened. It could have happened on a day the various sports teams who used the land were practising in it. Students could have been inside the building. _And one day, that's coming, isn't it? The worst thing._

"Let's go in, get cleaned up, then we'll decide what to do. " Arisa decided, transforming back and starting to walk. The others soon followed her, and she noticed them all also transforming back. Everyone, apart from Chika, who wasn't saying anything else.

"Kato-sempai, you're not transforming back?" Kou voiced Arisa's concerns before she herself could.

Chika looked at them and blinked, and shook her head.

"Why? Did you get injured?" Arisa's mind ran through the battle they had gone through. They'd been lucky, or so she'd thought. _But Chi-Chan's still standing, right?_ She started to scan her friend's body for any obvious tells of something she'd overlooked, but Chika finally, finally met her eye and shook her head again.

"Nah, it's nothing like that. Abe-san, stand down." This last command was directed at Sanae, one of their most recent joiners, who blinked in surprise and quietly shuffled away as she transformed back.

"Then…?"

"Is there any point? Really?"

"Well, of course there is-"

"Something else will come up. It always does. "

"Well, that one can't be argued with, I guess. But Kato-sempai, you need to rest." Kou protested. "We've all been fighting so hard this summer, after all. "

"Rest?" Chika's mouth twisted. "Rest? When do we ever _rest_?"

"Chi-Chan…?" Arisa wasn't sure what to say. This wasn't like Chika, not at all. Chika wasn't this tense, balled up, heated up soul who looked at them with scorn like this. _But then..?_ It might have been the heat, the stress of constant battles one after another, all of them speeding up and rushing at them. They needed a break, and they needed more people. Summers were always difficult, Arisa knew. People had to go away with their families, like Sora, Haru and Atsuya were currently doing. They had to work, as Jeff was doing right now and as Kou and Kotone had been a few times over the summer. They had lives, and they couldn't constantly be ripped away from them.

 _And yet, you're thinking of asking Shiho about performing a Binding._

There wasn't really any choice. Chika was right, after all. Things had kept coming back. If they weren't already at war, they would be soon. And it was her responsibility to protect Asgard Academy from all that. Niðavellir's duty to. _By any means possible._

"Chi-Chan?" she repeated. Chika looked out into the distance, then ran a hand through her hair as she tilted her head for a moment, as if listening to something. Then, she looked over at Arisa, eyes glittering dangerously.

"Gotta go, Ari." She said, voice fake-light. "Death calling, as usual."

She wielded her scythe and flew up into the air. A few moments later, she was invisible. Arisa wished she was able to see Chika, see where she was going.

"She's going that way." Naoko unexpectedly turned up by her side, and drew an arc in the sky as if to demonstrate. "Are you going to follow?"

"I'm not sure. What do you think I should do?"

"You're the leader, you're the one who should decide." Hanayo insisted.

"Hanayo-san…." Naoko sighed in irritation.

"She'll come back. " Arisa said in determination, more to reassure herself than to answer Hanayo. Then, she faced the others.

We'll go inside, clean up, make arrangements to deal with the fields, work out what to do next. Is that fine with everyone?"

"Yes." The response came back.

"Good."

 _If only I believed that._

…

 _Shiho_

Standing on a crate at the window of the meeting room, Principal Asakura hovering behind her, Shiho watched the Niðavellir members trailing back to the school building.

"What do you want to ask me, Sosuke?" she asked after a moment, without bothering to look back at him. Fen growled quietly as he curled up next to the crate.

"When this is going to stop? What, exactly, you're doing about the threat to my school?"

"Everything. You know that. That's what we've always done. "That's _how it's always been. And it's been fine, hasn't it?_ It was not as though she could have it any other way. Not while she was like this.

"I am well aware of how Asgard Academy came to be, Shiho. That isn't an _excuse_. "

"Nobody said it was."

"Well then, why aren't you doing something? Niðavellir need to do more than what they're doing right now! Have you seen the damage being caused? Have you?!"

"Stop shouting, Sosuke." Shiho sighed in irritation. "They're doing-we're doing, everything that can possibly be done."

"Then why am I seeing that?" In the reflection from the window, Shiho saw Asakura's hand gesture to the scene outside the window. Shiho rubbed her face in annoyance, and turned to face him.

"Because of whoever is targeting us this time?" The question, of course, was rhetorical.

 _And we don't even know who that is yet. We might never know…_

Asakura said nothing for a long moment, simply sizing her up. Then, suddenly, he knelt down, so she didn't have to look up at him. But it was not a gesture of kindness.

"Do more, Shiho. Make them do _more_." He snarled, quietly.

"Or?" She squared herself up, as much as she could, and looked him dead in the eye.

"You know." He replied, just as calm. Shiho closed her eyes. Thought of all of the students of Niðavellir. The ones who were there now. The ones who had despite everything gone onto better things. And all the ones whose photographs now stood in a memorial. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

"Understood."

"I'll expect to hear about what you've decided to do in a week's time. "

With that, Asakura simply straightened and walked out of the room. A few moments later, Shiho heard him leave the floor completely, and she let out a breath, though she could not fully relax. _Goddamn you._ Asakura knew what he was asking her to do. What it would mean for them all.

 _But I can hardly blame him, can I? I need this, myself._

Shiho turned, and went to look back out of the window. The group were almost at the entrance, and so almost out of sight, and they seemed to simply be walking, Emiko and Kotone, and Naoko and Hanayo talking while everyone else walked in contemplative silence. But then, suddenly, Kou dug in his pocket and took his phone out. Answering it, he came to a standstill as he listened to the person at the other end of the line. A few moments later, his face changed, from curiosity to complete utter, devastation, causing the others to crowd around him, try to figure out what was wrong. Shiho just stared for a few moments, before her brain caught up with itself. _Kou._

Jumping off of the crate, she motioned to Fen, who barked happily as he followed her, and then raced out of the room and all the way down. Principal Asakura's demands and their implications disappeared out of her mind.

 **...**

She stood there for a moment, watching Kou as he slept in her bed, tangled up in her blankets with Fen curled up on his pillow, frown still on his face. She knew he should be with someone else, sleeping in a bed in a house with a family in it. If fate wasn't so cruel, it would be his own family. As it was, she should have tried harder to get him to accept Ranko Takenaka's kind offer. But she hadn't. Instead, she'd persuaded him here, admittedly with little effort, forced him to wash and change and drink the calming-spelled tea that Jeff had made for him, before leading him to her bed. He'd fallen asleep almost instantly.

 _And, it was for the best._

Sure he wouldn't awaken, Shiho slipped away from her bedroom and into her workroom, and studied the bottles before she pulled down the three that she needed, set them out on the worktable and pulled a bowl and wooden spoon to her. She worked busily as she mixed the three potions, before bending down to open a drawer and take out a bag powder. After a moment's hesitation, she added the entire contents of the bag-his grief was that strong, after all-and once she'd mixed it all to her satisfaction, she took the potion back to the bedroom. Fen looked up as she approached the bed, but rested his head back on the pillow again once he realised nothing was happening. Shiho absently patted the dog's head as she perched on the edge of the bed and settled the bowl on her lap, before beginning.

Dipping a gloved hand into the potion, she carefully smeared some of it on his forehead, unbuttoned his pyjama shirt to rub it over his heart. She watched it disappear and fade, leaving only a slight, glittering aura that only she'd see. Then, she slid silently off of the bed, and used the spoon to paint some more potion on the bed, drawing around the outline of Kou's body, making sure that there were no gaps. To be safe, she then used the rest to draw a ring around her bed, before stepping back and regarding the almost-invisible shimmery shield that was now around him. Fen whined slightly, but Shiho glared and he backed down.

 _There. That will be enough._

Now, Kou would sleep, undisturbed. His grief would be kept at bay to allow him to sleep, and for his shattered heart to reassemble himself by the morning. He would not forget that he'd ever loved his sisters, let alone lost them, not exactly. But it would be numbed, minimised. He'd be able to stand and fight again without his feelings making him weak. And that would be important in the long run, the way things were. She knew from hard experience that _nobody_ could function with a shattered heart, _nobody_. So it was for the best, it really was.

 _Except, that's a lie. And you know it, Shiho Murakami._ She gritted her teeth, and forced herself to turn away to put away the bowl and spoon. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry._ It was an apology she'd never get to say aloud, but she made it anyway as she came back, unrolled her spare sleeping bag, and tried to asleep.

 _I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

…

 _Arisa_

"Okay, so now we've dispensed with the formalities, there's something I need to ask of you."

Arisa looked at the faces of the Niðavellir members staring at her solemnly. With the exception of Chika, who didn't seem to be looking at her so much as through her, and still in her transformed state to boot.

"I know that as much as we pour into our efforts here, we still have lives elsewhere. Our families, our friends, our school-lives, whatever it is. So…."

She hesitated. _Can I really, really ask this of them?_ It was not as if they could shake off their abilities just like that-no, whatever they did, those would be with them forever. But that was not the problem. That wasn't the problem at all.

"Until we can be sure that we've completely established the current threat to Asgard Academy, I'm proposing that we perform a Binding."

This resulted in more than a few surprised looks and exclamations being thrown around the meeting table. Arisa took a glance at Shiho, only to be taken aback by a similar expression on her face. _Shiho?_ Almost as if she could hear her, Shiho met Arisa's eye, and the expression remained on her face for a moment longer before it disappeared almost instantly, replaced with her default blank one.

 _Did…did I just imagine that?_

"What's…what's a Binding?" Sanae was the first to ask.

"It's an old spell, developed by a sorcerer-type _mahou shoujo_ centuries ago, if I remember the exact details correctly. It's pretty much what it says on the tin-it binds you. To a particular location, person or purpose. It influences the world around you to prevent interference, if you have abilities it amplifies them, all for whatever it is you are bound to. "

"What about you, yourself?" Haru asked. "Strikes me that something like that would also mess with our heads."

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yes, this will probably have some impact on our mental states. The way we think." Arisa said. She looked to Chika as she said this, but got nothing in response. Not a flicker.

"What, is it like the magical equivalent of some sort of smart drug or something?" Sora cracked. Arisa sighed patiently and did her best to give him a stern look.

"It's not some simple fix. It will help us, but it will also be a burden. However, you're all aware of how the summer unfolded. It's not stopping, so something, something needs to be done."

"Then I'm alright with it." Hanayo said instantly.

"That's…fast." Rei spluttered after a moment. "You're not going to ask anything else?"

"Why would I?" Hanayo asked him, her forehead creasing slightly. Rei groaned and shook his head.

"Never mind."

"What do you want to ask, Nishimori-kun? And actually, if anyone has any questions, please do ask."

"Is this forbidden magic? I've never heard of Binding before." Rei fired immediately.

"No," Arisa shook her head firmly. "It's rare, and very old, so it's not often used. The average mahou shoujo, or even the average magically-abled person wouldn't necessarily have heard of it. But it isn't forbidden from what I know."

Do _I know?_ The thought nagged at her, but she pushed it down. Of course she knew. It was fine. _It has to be._

"Sounds like it should be." Haru remarked. "But whatever, if you need to Bind me, I'm all for it. Not got any particular commitments anyway so it's not like it's going to make a difference."

"When was the last time it was used? In Niðavellir, I mean?" Atsuya asked.

"Fifteen years ago." It was Shiho who answered the question. "The last time we needed to use a Binding, it was fifteen years ago."

"We? Did you get Bound as well, Shiho?" Sora queried, propping his chin in his hand to regard her.

"I perform the spell. I don't need to be Bound." Shiho corrected pointedly. Arisa noticed that Shiho still seemed faintly shaken, as if her announcement had come out of the blue. She didn't know why though-while she hadn't said she was going to ask the club about the possibility of a binding spell, she'd gained most of her information about the magic from Shiho herself. _Still, I'll need to check that everything is okay with her._

"Okay, okay."

"It still sounds kind of dangerous, though." Kotone ventured. "I'm a little worried."

"I know. I understand, really. I can't promise we'll be safe, because it isn't about keeping _us_ safe…"

 _Oh, I wish it was though. I wish it was._

"It's about keeping Asgard Academy safe. We get it." Chika spoke up, and Arisa startled. She gazed at her friend, but she didn't react further. No smile, no snarky comment, no look around at everyone else to elicit a reaction, nothing. _Chi-Chan…._

"Alright, does anyone else have any questions?"

She waited a bit, but when there was nothing, she sighed.

"Alright then. All I need is consent from all of you. "

"I've said already, but I'm cool with it." Haru drawled, leaning back in his seat.

"I am also willing." Hanayo stated.

"It's all the same to me." Kou half-whispered, looking down at his lap. Atsuya automatically put a hand on his shoulder. _I'll check if he's alright, too._

"I'm alright with it too." Jeff said. Arisa smiled at that, but at the same time, something made her want to cry at that. _More things to check._

The others all eventually chimed in with their consent, with varying degrees of uncertainty. Once the last person had done so, Arisa let out another sigh.

"Alright, perfect. We'll do that after school. Everybody, please make sure that you come straight up when your last lesson finishes, and go straight to Shiho's quarters."

Arisa looked over at Shiho, who nodded to confirm.

"It'll be one at a time, possibly two, but Shiho will tell you when you can come in. Okay, now we're dismissed. There's still some time before homeroom so you can stay here or go straight down….but Jeff-kun, Chi-Chan, stay behind a moment, please?"

Everyone got up and filed out of the room, but as she asked, Jeff and Chika stayed where they were sitting.

"Is everything okay, Hiyama-Chan?" Jeff asked instantly, tilting his head slightly to regard her. "Is there something you need?"

"You can walk away, if you want." Arisa said. "I mean it, both of you. The next few weeks and even months will be hard, especially because of the Binding."

"Pfft. That's foolhardy, isn't it?"

"I know, and I'm not going to be giving this option to anyone else, apart from Kurosawa-kun. We need as much manpower as possible, but….please, if you can't handle this, if you don't want to do this, please don't. Walk away."

"There's no point, Ari." Chika sounded resigned. "There's no point. I'll be Bound, you don't need to feel bad about it."

"But, Chi-Chan."

"Don't make this harder for me, please." With that, Chika got up, dragging her scythe behind her as she left the room. Arisa followed her movements with her eyes, and looked helplessly at the meeting room door as it swung behind her.

"You need us though, don't you?" Jeff murmured.

"That's true, but…" Arisa couldn't look at him. _I need and want both of you by my side. But I need and want you both safe. I can't have both though, can I?_

"Then it's fine. Anything for you, Hiyama-Chan."

 _How do those words come so easily?_ Arisa groaned and rubbed her forehead for a moment, but couldn't find a response.

"I mean," Jeff continued in the silence. "If you could get Shiho to find a way to link the café to the spell, I'd like that though. We've used it as a rendezvous point often enough, haven't we? Enough for it to at least link with purpose, if it's that sort of binding spell. But yeah. It's fine. I promise."

At that, Arisa turned around slowly, and looked Jeff in the eye. He smiled at her, his face a great deal more untroubled than Chika's.

"Yeah. You're right about that. I can't promise anything though, but I will ask Shiho. Speaking of which, I should go and do that now."

"Then I won't hold you back. But, Hiyama-Chan, it's fine. I'm fine. I promise."

 _I hope it's true._ But Arisa simply smiled sadly back, and thanked him.

…

 _Shiho_

"It's done. " Shiho said simply into her phone.

"…what's done?" Asakura asked after a beat.

"What you wanted. The school will be safe now."

"….hmm, should I ask?" Asakura 'hmmed' a little more, and Shiho prayed he would not ask, that this would be one of the times where he would decide that it was best to leave things up to Niðavellir's judgement, just like most of the time. And just like Principal Mashiba had done fifteen years ago, the last time she'd administered a Binding.

That, and she didn't want to have to admit that it hadn't been her who'd needed to push for it, but Arisa. That would mean she'd need to admit she hadn't realised that the girl had been thinking of it when she'd asked about it, weeks ago in what had seemed a casual conversation. It meant she didn't have to take responsibility for if things went wrong once again.

And as much as she loved these children-god, how much she loved them-she was so, so glad of that.

"No, I won't." Asakura's response came eventually. "I'll trust your judgement, Shiho. After all, I know you wouldn't do anything to jeopardise yourself. What would you do, without Asgard Academy?"

"And what would _you_ do?" Shiho fired back, annoyed. "Do I need to remind you why there's an Asgard Academy for you to lead in the first place?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Asakura sighed. There was a pause, and then a soft sigh.

"Seriously though, Shiho. Thank you."

The words were so real, and so heartfelt, that Shiho felt herself deflate. How could she be angry at him? How?

"You're welcome."

She hung up swiftly, not wanting to hear anything else. Then, she stared at her shelves for a moment, before rubbing her eyes and leaving the room. She couldn't go soft. Not now.

Not ever.

…

 _Naoko_

"Atsuya, is it true?!"

Naoko recognised Fukiko's voice even from this distance, and sure enough, the moment she, Rei and Hiroto climbed up the stairs and rounded the corner, Fukiko was there, gesturing wildly as she confronted her little brother. Hanayo was also there, saying nothing but looking annoyed by what was essentially an interruption.

"Atsuya, it's true? You're not coming home?"

"Nee-san…" Atsuya sighed and ran a hand through his blue hair. "Not for a while, anyway. We decided it's better to stay here for now, so we can always be on call if something happens."

"You're always on call anyway! Why is this any different?"

"Fuki-san, what's wrong?" Naoko interjected. Fukiko startled and whipped around.

"Naoko-Chan!" she exclaimed. "Is it true? That Niðavellir has made you stay in the school?!"

 _Well, yes and no._

"Things are dangerous at the moment. More so than usual." Naoko reminded her. "And it's our job to protect you all."

"Yes! But….why does that mean that Atsuya can't come home for the night?"

 _Because of the Binding._ But of course, Naoko couldn't say that to her. The Binding was a secret, even if its end results were all too obvious. When she didn't answer though, Fukiko let out an annoyed cry, throwing her arms into the air.

"This is crazy! Atsuya already persuaded Mum and Dad to let us come home early because of that friend of his. Did Kurosawa-kun's sisters actually die, or was that some kind of excuse to make him come back for Niðavellir's purposes?!"

"Nee-san!" Atsuya protested, looking around him as if to make sure Kou wasn't there, even though they knew he was out with Arisa and Jeff canvassing the playgrounds for a possible sighting of their enemy.

"That was low, Fuki-san."

"But that's what you do, right? _Any means possible_." Her voice mocked the motto that Niðavellir went by and Naoko had to take in a deep breath to be able to respond.

"I was _there_ , Fuki-san. At the hospital, when he was told. And my uncle's one of the investigating officers."

 _The uncle I want to be like when I graduate._ Detectives did not always make it home each night, especially in the middle of a particularly thorny investigation. She knew this, and she supposed the Binding was just like the consequences of such a case. It was practise, that was what she told herself. It just did not seem to work. _I was there. And I still decided it was okay to be Bound, instead of trying to help Kurosawa-kun._ The feeling was like chains wrapping around her chest, tightening every time she thought of it. She could rationalise away whatever aspect of it she liked with whatever explanation she liked, but the truth and the pain still remained, and she could do nothing about it.

"Oh." Fukiko's hand went to her mouth, and her face crumpled for a moment. But she did not cry.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. "She murmured.

"It's alright." Atsuya said. "I know you're worried. But tell Mum and Dad I'm okay, alright? And tell Teiji to keep out of my room. I'm fine. I'm just protecting the school. Including you. "

"God, I know. It's just…..do you know what they say about you guys? About your club and what you do?"

"I suspect you're going to tell us anyway." Naoko responded. Fukiko nodded with no sense of irony.

"That in order to be able to do what you do at Niðavellir, you made a deal with the Devil."

"That's not true." Naoko and Atsuya said automatically, almost in unison. At the same time, a sudden noise of people approaching made all of them turn around.

"Halt!" Hanayo commanded, pulling out her sword, only to point it at two second-year girls who froze in their tracks and trembled. Hanayo stared for a full second before lowering it.

"My apologies. Please, continue."

The girls still remained frozen, exchanging worried looks with each other. _That didn't help our case, did it?_ Eventually, Atsuya stepped forward.

"I'm so sorry about that, we've been on edge and…" he managed to draw the two girls away, further down the corridor, leaving Naoko with Fukiko, Hanayo, Hiroto and Rei.

"A deal with the Devil." Fukiko murmured as she observed.

"That's not true." Naoko repeated, dumbly.

She wasn't sure what else to say. Though Fukiko was wrong, what Naoko had said wasn't even entirely correct either. The Binding certainly wasn't a pure, innocent gesture to be taking. And even now, just a couple of days after it had been put into place, she could feel it, tightening the chains around her chest, keeping her here. Even thinking of the dreams she had, the plans she had in place for once she finally graduated, even that made it hurt.  
It was already working, and even if it wasn't a deal with the Devil it was awfully close to one.

"If it isn't, then why are you being like this? Why are you letting it consume your whole lives?"

"It's not…it's not that simple, Fuki-san. "The chains tightened again as Naoko thought of how Fukiko had distanced herself last year. _I don't want to lose you again. I lost too much already, from being made to join Niðavellir. Please. Please._

Fukiko sighed, and for a moment glanced over at Atsuya, who seemed to be making some headway in reassuring the girls.

"I know. I know, you told me all this already. Even Atsuya did. But…."

"It's okay."

"We…we can still be friends though, right, Naoko-Chan?"

"Sure." Naoko nodded warily. "But you should know, we are focusing a lot on our duties this term, so…"

"No, no, I get it. I…Is there anything I can do at all? If you're not going home, that's going to make some things difficult, right?"

 _That's the point of a Binding, but…_

"Perhaps you could bring your brother some clothing changes, from time to time. You won't be able to come up to us, but we can meet and I can get them for you. Assuming we're not busy." Naoko suggested.

For the first time in the exchange, Fukiko smiled.

"That can be done. Yours, too?"

"Yes. Yes please." The chains tightened, trying to pull her back to duty, but she managed to smile. "Thanks, Fuki-san."

"Kawamura-sempai, we need to go." Rei reminded her. Naoko turned and nodded.

"Alright. See you later then, Fuki-san."

"Sure. I'll tell the rest of the Archery Club you said hi, shall I?"

"Yes please."

Then, Naoko let the chains pull her back away, back to her duty. It was not like she had any choice, after all.

…

 _Kou_

 _I'm supposed to be able to forget._

With each step forward, his feet jarring in his boots as he ran further forward, sending out attack after attack after attack, that was all he could think. _I'm meant to forget._ He was meant to forget that he was alone in the world, that his heart was ripped out in two thanks to a drunk driver and bad luck. He was meant to completely forget that he hadn't been home for weeks, that he even had a home to go to. He was meant to pour everything, everything he had, all the energy he'd once thought would go onto his sisters, and direct it here. Into Niðavellir, the one thing he had left.

But instead, he was forgetting other things. The colour of Misa's eyes, what style Maki always pestered him to do her hair in before day-care each day. The sounds of their voices. All the details of the life he had before. And how he'd once believed that the stars never, ever lied to him.

 _Well, they didn't, did they?_ Everything the stars had shown him had indeed happened, everything his cards had hinted at had unfolded eventually. But they hadn't shown him what would happen to Misa and Maki.

And yet here he was, still using his ability.

 _I'm meant to forget. I'm meant to forget._

He had thought the Binding would do that. That it would let him pass by the road where the accident had happened without reacting at all, that it would perhaps fix his powers so that he'd see if anything was going to happen to his comrades, so that he'd actually be able to do something. He wasn't sure if it was working, though. But he didn't regret it. If he had taken Arisa up on her idea of kindness and decided not to undergo the Binding, what would he have done? _What would I do?_ At least here he could hold onto the images that had propelled him into Niðavellir in the first place, those dreams of being a hero.

Thundering past a corner, there was a part of his brain that registered fatigue, that told him to hang back and let Atsuya and Haru steam forward for now. _But I'm meant to forget._ So he forged on, attack after attack, step by step, closing the distance between himself and the target he was pursuing.

Perhaps when he defeated this enemy, he'd get the oblivion he was looking for.

…

 _Kotone_

Sleep was such a rare treasure these days, she'd imagined she'd be taking it at any chance she got. But instead, she found herself tossing and turning in the futon so much, eventually she decided to just give up. Sitting up carefully, she looked around her. Emiko and Sanae were each sleeping on rolled out mattresses next to her-the latter sprawled out flat on her back, the former curled up on her side, one hand tightly gripping the pouch hanging around her neck, the one which contained the coins her latest spell needed to work. Haru was sleeping on the opposite side of the room, an obscure lump under the sheer number of blankets he'd hogged for himself. Hiroto and Sora would also usually be on Haru's side of the room, but she knew they had a guard shift at some point, so their absence didn't concern her.

After regarding her sleeping friends for a while longer, she carefully picked up her folded dressing gown, shrugged it on, then got up, making sure to be as quiet as possible as she padded across the room and eased the door open, before slipping out and closing it behind her.

She stared at the door of the common room, but others were sleeping in there, so she could hardly disturbing them. Those who preferred to use the meeting room to sleep were out on shift, she knew, but it wasn't there she wanted to be. And it certainly wasn't Shiho's quarters, either (though it wasn't like she could go in there without permission anyway). No, there was one room that she needed right now, and it was straight there that she went.

Again, making sure to be quiet, she pushed open the door of the room that served as a shrine, stepped inside, and closed the door behind her, before feeling for the light switch and flicking it on, making all the faces stare at her.

 _What would you do, in my situation?_ She asked them silently. She wasn't sure if this was what Arisa had meant that day, when she'd been shown around Niðavellir's floor. All the same, she had taken it to heart. _That's why I'm here. So, please, help me. What would you do?_

But of course, there was no answer. The dead did not talk.

Deflated, Kotone sat down on the floor cross-legged, and looked up at all the different faces. _What can I do? The Binding is supposed to put things on hold, not shatter lives completely. I can't stop singing. I don't want to._ It was one thing to be on a temporary break, another thing to be cut loose. She couldn't lose her career, not now. Since transferring to Asgard Academy, her life had changed so much, so many times, so quickly. She couldn't lose one of the few constants. Sure, someone like Haru would tell her that she didn't need a record deal and a manager to keep singing. But that wasn't the problem.

He would be right, technically, but that wasn't the problem.

Restless and helpless, Kotone got up again and went to the small chest of drawers, and pulled out a set of candles and matches to light them. Staring for as long as she had, she could tell that Shiho had been in here earlier to clean and lay out the offerings, so she didn't need to do that. She just busied herself with putting the candles in the assorted holders both attached to the wall and left on the shelves, and then with carefully lighting each and every one. One wobbled just as she lit it, and quickly, she shot out a hand to grab it before the flame caught a frame and everything went up. _Phew, close call._ She stared at the photograph of the boy that the candle was in front of.

 _I'm sorry,_ she apologised silently.

Straightening the candle, she moved around the room more slowly to do the others. Then, she went back to the light switch, flicking it off so the multitude of small flames were the only light in the room. The flames themselves flickered, but everything else was still.

 _If I did catch on fire, would I burn?_

It sounded like a silly question, even in the safety of her head, but she had to ask it. As everything slipped away, was she even human anymore? If she was on fire, would she burn? If she was cut, would she bleed? And what about the others? Her _friends_. She _hated_ to think of them as not human, but after this Binding…..

 _If we did catch on fire, would we burn?_

…

Kotone's vision was blurry for a moment, but eventually it cleared, and she realised the colours she had seen were Shiho, standing over her. _Oh. I fell asleep. When did that happen?_

"Hold on."

Shiho stepped away so that Kotone could sit up.

"Are you alright?" Shiho asked. Kotone didn't respond, not sure how to. Shiho sighed heavily.

"I apologise. That was probably not the best question. I heard about your manager. I'm…I'm sorry."

"Mhm." A more gracious person would have said 'it's okay', but Kotone didn't feel that way.

A few moments passed, and the two regarded each other for a moment. Kotone could glean nothing from Shiho's face, but was certain that the alchemist could read all her thoughts, even though she herself had no idea what she was thinking, really.

"What happened to the Niðavellir of fifteen years ago?" Kotone asked.

"Why do you ask?" Shiho returned.

"They were the last ones to be in our situation. Surely we can use their story to guide us."

It could have been the candlelight, but at that moment she saw a flicker cross Shiho's face. Kotone shivered, but didn't turn away. She needed to know, the need gripped her like a vice. Eventually, Shiho sighed, but instead of opening her mouth to speak, she pointed behind Kotone, and drew a shape.

Baffled, Kotone twisted around and saw a faint glowing outline draw itself around a small cluster of photos on the wall directly in front of her. Four down, four across, and two extra, all roughly in the middle of the wall.

 _No._

"Wait, you mean….?" Kotone watched the outline start to fade.

"We had to rebuild Niðavellir from scratch the next year."

 _No…..that…._ Kotone looked down at her hands. They'd been stained with blood and who knew what else so many times now, but surely they weren't hurtling towards that sort of conclusion…. _If Hiyama-san had known this, she wouldn't have asked us, would she?_

"No, she wouldn't have."

Kotone whipped around, startled, and realised she'd said her last thought aloud.

"And you didn't _tell_ her?"

"I did not." Shiho did not elaborate on this statement, and somehow that was more shocking than any explanation could have been.

"Was that deliberate?"

 _Wait, where did that come from? Shiho would_ never _…._

But Shiho neither confirmed nor denied. She simply stood there, waiting. Kotone's stomach churned, and she felt a scream build up in her throat, but she pushed it down.

"What else is there?" she asked, trying to glare. Shiho stared her down, as if she hadn't said anything at all, and Kotone shivered again.

 _Please, help me. Help us._

"What were their names?" she blurted out.

"I'm sorry?"

"Their names." Kotone pointed wildly at the group of photos. The outline was completely gone now, but she wouldn't forget the location anytime soon. _I'll remember you. I'll learn your names. Please, show me what to do. Help us, so we don't become like you._

"I'd like to know their names. Please, Shiho."

There was another long, stretching moment, when they both regarded each other. Then, Shiho's shoulders slumped in defeat, and she sat down, kneeling and facing Kotone.

"Alright. I'll tell you their names."

 _But that's all._ It didn't need to be said, the disclaimer was infused in her words. But that was enough for Kotone. Learning the names of the ones who had died in their situation would be a start. So she listened carefully.

 **...**

When Kotone woke up again, it was day. Someone-most likely Shiho-had blown out all the candles, and that same someone had likely dug out a spare pillow and blanket and tucked them in around her. Yawning, she stretched and got up, rolled the blanket around the pillow, and got up.

"Good morning." She said to all the photographs staring at her. She gazed at the eighteen whose names she'd learnt.

"Good morning." She repeated, just for them, before quietly reciting all their names. "See, I remember you."

Smiling wistfully, she tucked her pillow-and-blanket roll under her arm, and left the room, closing the door behind you.

"Oh, there you are! I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there!"

Emiko almost sprinted towards the corridor towards her.

"Sorry, Chiba-Chan." Kotone apologised. "I was just….."

Emiko followed her gaze.

"You slept in there? W-why?"

Kotone shrugged and sighed. Emiko frowned at her, but Kotone did her best to reveal nothing. _See, I can play your game, Shiho._

"You have a plan, don't' ya, Suzu?" Haru ambled up to them, hands deep in his pyjama pockets, clearly oblivious to his severe case of bedhead.

"What do you mean?" Kotone tilted her head, did her best innocent expression. Of course, it wasn't fooling Haru.

"You're up to something. I want in."

"I….." Kotone looked back over her shoulder at the door of the room. She could not bring herself to say what she had learnt, what Shiho had hidden from them. _I can hide things too._

"I suppose I do. But I can't tell you."

"W-why not, Suzuki-san?"

"Not now." The plan had come in the night, as Shiho told her the names of the eighteen from the Niðavellir of fifteen years ago. It was still fragile, merely a new-born. But it was something. She had asked for help, and they were obliging. _I won't let you down._

"I….I'm not sure I understand." Emiko stammered after a moment. Behind her, Haru waited, dark eyebrow raised in interest.

"It's okay, I don't understand much myself. I'm not too sure what I'm thinking, myself." Kotone confessed. "But I might need some help, once I am sure of it. Until then, I can't tell you anything."

 _If we did catch on fire, would we burn? I don't know, but whatever happens, I'll make sure that we won't have to find out. I promise._

Emiko still looked lost, but Haru nodded slowly.

"I see. That's…interesting, to say the least. Well then, Suzu, count me in if you need me." He proclaimed lazily.

And before she could thank him, he had turned away and disappeared into the boys' bathroom. Kotone shook her head at him, and then went to the girls' bathroom. Today would be another long day, after all.


	3. Part 2B

**A quick clarification I should have made before-Sora, Sanae and Hiroto are all OCs of mine, made for sort-of-plot-continuity purposes (specifically, the general idea of Arisa's goal to make Nidavellir stable again). Anyway, on with this part!**

* * *

 _ _Rei__

He stared at the papers on the teacher's desk. All of them various tests and quizzes taken over the last half term, and he recognised all of them as being his. And even if he didn't, he'd recognise his own name in his own handwriting.

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you what's happening here, do I, Nishimori-kun?" the teacher asked. Her pink nail tapped at one test score: 44. And another: 42. And another: 49.

"I would normally call in your parents straight away because of this, but I wanted to talk to you first. This isn't particularly like you, is it now?"

"No, Sasaki-sensei." Rei said automatically. Sasaki sighed, and pulled out one paper. Rei recognised it instantly as his science midterm. 37. The worst score of all of them.

"Do you have any explanation as to why this is happening? In first year, your scores were solidly in the upper 80s. Your science and maths scores all went to high 90s at the beginning of this year. And now, you've dropped far below that. You're failing. Is there anything going on at home? With your friends, perhaps?"

 _More than that._

"No, Sasaki-sensei." Rei lowered his eyes and looked down at his lap instead. He didn't want to see those grades, his failures. He couldn't waver now. He was already wasting time, here with Sasaki.

"I seem to recall you were very active in setting up study groups for the class, which I noticed helped. Perhaps you should set those up again-."

"I don't have the time for that, sensei!" Rei burst out, cringing when he realised he had just interrupted the teacher.

"Nishimori-kun, did you not hear what I said?" Sasaki clicked her tongue and glared. "You're failing. At this rate, you won't be able to progress to the next year. You might not even be able to graduate. You are aware of the seriousness, aren't you?"

"I am-I'm sorry, I can't. I can't." Rei pleaded.

Sasaki sighed, and made a point of rearranging the pile of exam papers. The science midterm was right on top, taunting him with the failing score. _What's happened to me?_ Eventually, Sasaki looked back at him, and smiled faintly.

"You know, Nishimori-kun, there is a life beyond Niðavellir."

 _No, there isn't._

Rei pressed his lips together into a thin line to stop those words escaping, and tried to keep himself as still as possible. But Sasaki seemed to hear them anyway, because she sighed heavily and let her smile fall away before she got up and gathered the papers.

"I don't think I can expect you to go back to your old standards that quickly, but I'll give you until the next set of in-class tests for each subject to make some kind of improvement. If not, then I will have to get your parents involved and you will feel the consequences. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Sasaki-sensei."

"And keep in mind what I just said. It will probably help."

Sasaki left the classroom, but Rei didn't move for a little while. _Life, beyond Niðavellir? I don't have that anymore. That's the problem._ He sighed, and reached up to adjust his glasses before remembering he wasn't wearing them anymore. He had contacts in. Because it was easier and more convenient when fighting. _See?_

Feeling sick, Rei pushed back the chair, got up, swept up his bag, and quickly strode out of the room. He didn't want to think about this anymore. He _couldn't_.

 **…**

 _Chika_

At first, she didn't quite realise what she had done, but after a few moments, reality came flooding back in, and she stared at Sora as he attempted to sit up, and Hiroto and Sanae dropped their own weapons and sprinted across the Green Room to help him. _You should….probably say something. Do something,_ a little voice in her head chided her.

And she agreed, she really did, but instead, she turned and ran out.

"Hey, Kato! You can't just do that! Kato!"

More protests came, but Chika blocked them out as she rushed away. _I can't do this anymore._ She pushed open the door to the meeting room, but saw Kotone sitting at the table alone, reading some chunky, old looking tomes and making notes from them. She looked up at the intrusion, but Chika quickly closed the door and went away before she could ask anything, and went straight to the common room.

 _I could probably do with a coffee…._ To her relief, the common room was empty, but instead of going to the kitchen area and attempting to assemble herself a drink, she just stood there. Just as instinct had propelled her out of the Green Room after attacking Sora, it glued her to the spot she was standing on. _What….what am I even doing?_

"Erm, Kato-sempai? Are you alright?"

Somehow, slowly, Chika turned around to see Kou, Emiko and Haru standing just behind her, and her heart squeezed. But she remained where she was, and said nothing.

"You're acting strange." Haru informed her bluntly.

"…yes."

Kou and Haru exchanged looks while Emiko just fidgeted nervously, and then Kou simply shrugged and turned to look back at Chika, a small and faltering smile appearing on his face. _I haven't seen that look in a while._

"Well…erm, actually, we were just coming to look for you. I made you something. Or, rather, we did." Kou explained.

He dug in his pocket and pulled out something red and black. He flattened it, and held it out in his hands, and Chika could see that it was three red silk roses held together with black ribbon, with some length of ribbon trailing out underneath.

"It's for your scythe." Haru said when she didn't respond.

"I don't get it." She said numbly. Haru rolled his eyes, and pointed at the scythe. Chika held it out uncertainly.

"Ah, here, I'll show you what to do."

Chika watched as Kou carefully tied the silk roses onto the handle, at the point where the handle met the blade, leaving the ribbon lengths trailing. It looked quite nice-classy, even-, but she still didn't quite get it. Kou looked up, and seemed to discern this, because he gave another smile. _I don't deserve this. I don't._

It hadn't been her fault that his sisters had died, just as it was never her fault when everyone else whose souls she'd ever collected had died. _But you could have stayed. When you snuck out and realised who the child was, you could have….._ And instead, she'd run away. Pretended that as usual, it didn't matter. _And it was far too easy to do that._

"It's a spell." Kou said as she swallowed her nausea. "The scythe won't respond if it falls in the wrong hands. And if you get struck by it, it won't hurt you."

At this, Chika touched the side of her head. The bruise was fading now, and there was no scar to speak of, but even so, she'd almost forgotten it had ever happened, even though it wasn't the first time this had happened. It had been far too easy to do that, too. _And yet, this is too hard?_

"That's one nifty decoration." She remarked.

"There's one more feature, too." Emiko spoke up. "Kurosawa-kun?"

"Oh, yeah! I thought this might be useful. Let me hold it, and press the gold beads in the middle of the roses."

"What?" Chika stared.

"Just do it." Haru muttered.

"Okay, okay." Just as she let go of the scythe, she heard someone come into their quarters, and a few moments later, she could hear Hiroto and Sanae complaining to Arisa, their voices dipping up and down in volume, so she couldn't hear too much.

" Chi-Chan did? That doesn't sound like…"

"….playing favourites!...can't just….let her…."

"No, no, I will…firstly, is Takada-kun alright?"

"He will be, I was able to heal him pretty quickly."

"Thank you, Abe-san…..is he able to…? Okay, then, let's go into the meeting room."

"Are you…..not going to…?"

"I will talk to her, but for now, tell me what happened, in your own words…ah, hey, Suzuki-san, is it alright if we stay here? We won't be disturb….?"

Chika swallowed again, and met Kou's eyes. He didn't say anything, and just used his head to gesture at the roses as he grabbed ahold of the scythe.

"Try it." He encouraged.

Chika hesitated, but obliged and watched as her scythe seemed to wink and vanish, leaving behind the roses and ribbon. Before she could protest, Kou, who had caught the silk in his hands before it could fall, turned it around and pointed to something shimmery.

"It's there, see? The extra ring of fabric? If you want to bring back the scythe, just do what you did to make it fold in. "

Chika tested this, and sure enough, her scythe returned to its normal form. _Neat._ A laugh bubbled up in her chest, but she couldn't get it out. Instead, she pressed at the gold beads again to turn her scythe back into what was essentially a hairband. _Woah._ The little voice in her head whistled, impressed, and she herself would have too, if she knew how.

"…why?" she asked.

"W-we thought that maybe it might be useful. You don't need to drag your scythe around all the time, but it will still be to hand, and you'll be able to wield it even when you're not transformed." Emiko explained. She looked like she'd say more, but then she stared at Chika and went bright red.

"I mean, I didn't….."

Chika sighed heavily and made a dismissive gesture.

"Whatever, I get it. " She shrugged. "I…thanks, I guess. But, why?"

"Like Chiba-sempai said, we thought it might be useful. And, uh, I thought you might like it." Kou went slightly pink.

"It was _his_ idea." Haru idly commented, pointing at Kou, who spluttered a bit.

"Yeah, but you helped with the designing," he retorted. "And Chiba-sempai found all the things we needed to make it, so it wasn't just me."

Emiko nodded in confirmation, but Chika didn't pay much attention as she looked at the silk roses nestled in her hands, weighing them up.

"Wait, _Nakahara-kun designed_ this?" Chika felt another trapped laugh form as this occurred to her, and Haru silently mock-glared.

"But, anyway, it was surprisingly fun. Like a kids craft project….I'd forgotten what those are like. Actually, I've forgotten a lot of things."

Kou bit his lip at that, and looked down at the ground.

"Ah….are you holding up alright?" Chika asked him.

Kou took a while to lift his head up, and when he met her eyes she was taken back to what felt like so long ago, dealing with the stand that had gone up in flames and meeting Kou for the first time. She couldn't remember the last time someone had looked at her like that, with so much awe, as if she was to be admired, not feared but grudgingly accepted as the way life worked. _Everything's changed._

"I'm getting there. "

 _No thanks to me._

"I….I, that's good to hear. Keep your chin up, eh? And….thank you for this, really." She held up the silk roses. "I've never had a boy give me flowers before."

Kou blushed at that, and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. _So, I can tease the boy. That's….that's something._ Chika didn't know what to do with that realisation.

"Ah, that's, well…you're welcome." She spluttered out.

"Okay, so you go rest up, sit in the common room, take something to eat and drink, whatever, I'll find Chi-Chan and go to talk to her and-ah!"

They were all suddenly confronted by Arisa swinging open the door. Chika stared at her, and Arisa stared right back before her shoulders slumped and her grip on the handle loosened.

"You're here. "She breathed out. "Right. Right, okay. We'll go to the meeting room. Abe-san, Takada-kun, Miyazono-kun, you can stay here and _don't say anything._ Chi-Chan, come on."

"What's going on?" Emiko asked.

"It's fine, don't worry about it, we're sorting it out. Chi-Chan?"

"Mhm."

Chika kept her head down- _how can I look at them?-_ and scurried out behind Arisa, following her out to the meeting room and not looking up until she got there. Kotone looked up and tilted her head in greeting before getting back to whatever it was she was doing, and she noticed that she was had earphones in, and it randomly occurred to her that she had no idea what the idol liked to listen to herself. _Why does it matter?_ She sighed and rubbed her head.

"Sit down, Chi-Chan." Arisa murmured, pointing to a seat at the opposite end of the table to Kotone. Chika plopped into it heavily and then waited for what was going to come. A telling off. Disappointment. Her best friend giving her the same looks everyone gave her these days.

But instead, Arisa crouched carefully in front of her, and looked up, gazing at her so directly it was almost impossible to resist eye contact.

"What happened, Chi-Chan?" she whispered.

"Takada-kun told you, didn't he?" Chika muttered right back.

"I know. But can you tell me, anyway?" Arisa asked. "Please."

"I….." Chika shut her eyes. "I don't know, really. I…you know that cliché about the red mist coming down? It was kind of like that. I forgot for a moment that we were just practising and that I was up against Takada-kun."

"Red mist, huh?" Arisa considered this. "What happened to trigger it? What made you angry?"

"I don't know. I don't know, Ari." Chika repeated dumbly, opening her eyes.

"I suppose I should have seen this coming. You've not been yourself since the summer, have you? What's wrong, Chi-Chan? Can I help you?"

"No, you can't." Arisa flinched when she said this, and she sighed heavily. "I wish you could, but…"

"But….?"

"It's just…..I…this isn't fun anymore."

 _God, I sound like a four year old._

"Yeah?"

"I'm tired, Ari. I'm just _tired_ , of everything, but it won't let up. The stuff here, people dying. "

"Do you want to leave?"

"I can't, can I? There's the Binding."

"I know, I know, but I can ask Shiho, and-"Arisa halted as Chika held up her hand.

"No, there's no point. People are still going to be dying, and in any case, reversing the Binding won't make a difference."

"Won't it? You'd be freer. You could go home."

"Nah, it's…" Chika struggled. "In the first place being a reaper is what you say about being _mahou shoujo_ but ramped up tenfold, but also, I think joining Niðavellir is a binding spell in itself. We were trapped, right from the beginning."

Arisa tilted her head, seemingly lost for words. Chika knew how that felt, but she tried to elaborate a little more.

"The thing is, even though I'm trapped here, I don't _want_ to leave. At least, I don't feel the need to. I'm tired, but I….I don't know, I just thought if I focused solely on the things I had to do, I'd find it again."

"The fun?" Arisa asked. Chika nodded at that.

"Yeah, I guess. Just whatever it was that I liked about this mess in the first place." She agreed. "I want to find it again."

 _I don't know if this is me talking, or the Binding, but it's still true._

"So, you want to stay, then." Arisa summarised. Chika nodded again, and Arisa sighed, rubbing her eyes for a moment. With the motion, Chika noticed that dark circles had started to show up under her eyes again, and she wondered if she had been responsible for them.

"Sure. I'd be a shitty friend if I left you in the lurch without a right-hand-man, right? Though I suspect that I've been just that anyway these past few months…"

Arisa shook her head vehemently at this, making some of her hair whip her face. Chika felt a genuine smile tug at her lips, and she let it.

"That's not true. " Arisa stated. "But, Chi-Chan, you know, you can't go on like this. Especially not now."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." Chika murmured, sobering, clutching the silk roses tighter. Then, she asked the question she'd been avoiding.

"I…what did I do to Takada-kun, Ari?"

Arisa sighed.

"He's mostly bruised. A few cuts. He sprained his ankle, too. Nothing that Abe-san wasn't able to easily deal with. Mostly, he's just shaken up. It could have been worse, but Chi-Chan-"

"I know. I know. I'll go apologise now."

"Have a shower first. And something to eat. "Arisa insisted, starting to get up.

"No, no, I'll apologise first. I need to do that." Chika insisted just as forcefully, following suit. Arisa shook her head tiredly.

"If you're sure. I'll get you a change of clothes and see you in a minute."

Chika looked down at herself again, surprised to see that she was still transformed, and quietly transformed back. Her skin instantly felt grainier, her scalp greasier. And the tiredness hit her full force, and she had to hold out her arms to steady herself. Yet at the same time, she felt something that she could only label as positive. She tugged at her t-shirt, curiously wondering which one it was, and laughed aloud when she realised.

Arisa turned around almost instantly.

"Chi-Chan?"

In silence, Chika pointed at her top- _Even Magical Girls Wanna Have Fun-_ And Arisa's face lit up instantly, before she left the room to go to the storage cupboard. Chika took a breath, then strode back to the common room.

Kou, Haru and Emiko had left at some point, but Sora, Sanae and Hiroto were all still there, sitting on the sofas. They looked up at her arrival and almost instantly tensed, Sora in particular seeming to curl up in on himself, giving her the look she hated so much. _Don't back away now. You told Ari you could stay._ So she ignored it, pretended that they weren't looking at her like that, and took a few more steps forward, until she was close enough to be sincere, but far enough away to feel safe.

"I'm sorry, Takada-kun." She said before any of them could get a question in, bowing as far as she could go, staring at her old blue trainers. And then she waited. The moments seemed to tick by, and then..

"You can straighten up, Kato."

Chika obliged and looked straight at Sora, who just looked slightly embarrassed now.

"As long as you don't go all psycho on me again, I guess it's cool."

"I won't." Chika said, gripping the roses tightly to remind her. "You can count on that."

"Meh, that works for me." Sora decided.

 _I'll make sure of it. I swear it, on these roses._

At that moment, Arisa came in carrying a small pile of clothes, breaking out into a smile.

"Pyjamas." She told Chika, handing over the pile. "After showering, have something to eat, and then go to sleep. It's important to take advantage of this relatively quieter moments to rest and refresh."

Though the last statement was clearly aimed at Chika, Arisa made a point of telling the other three in the room as well, and they nodded.

"I'm still coming on tonight's watch though, with you and Jeff, right?" Chika checked as she took the pile and carefully balanced her roses on it.

Arisa pursed her lips as she considered this, and then nodded slowly.

"If you rest now, then yes, that shouldn't be a problem."

 _Good, I'm glad._

"Alright then, see you in a minute."

 **…**

Once she was showered and cleaned, Chika dumped her old clothes in the basket they'd designated as the dirty clothes basket and went straight back to the common room. Arisa was sitting at the table in the kitchen area with two plates of rice and curry. The smell of it hit her as soon as she noticed, and she took a moment to just breathe it in. _Mmmm. When was the last time I actually ate?_

Pushing down the question, she quickly went over to Arisa and sat down in front of the plate that was meant for her.

"Well, this looks good. Did you make it?" She grinned. Arisa beamed back, brighter than she had seen her in ages.

"Yeah, I did. Shocked?"

"Very." Chika did a mock-swoon, and then had to fight off the biggest yawn. "Alright, let's eat before I fall in this and defeat the point of my shower."

After giving a quick thanks for the food, they both tucked in in companionable silence. Occasionally, Chika would catch her best friend watching her carefully, giving smiles of varying degrees each time she was caught. But she didn't mind, because with each bite and each concerned look she caught, she found herself settling back inside herself again. She was nowhere near what she was seeking, she knew, but for the first time since the summer she felt like she was actually on the way.

And so, when she finished and went straight to her sleeping bag to crash, she was able to fall asleep almost immediately.

 **…**

 _Kenjiro (Jeff)_

Kenjiro had no idea why he'd woken up until he turned over and noticed that the sleeping bag nestled between his and Chika's was empty. _Hiyama-Chan._ Sitting up instantly, he looked around before slowly getting up, and he was just about to head straight out of the common room when something compelled him to look down at Chika.

She was still completely dead to the world, the sleeping bag barely containing her as she lay with her limbs as flung out as they could possibly be. One hand was still tightly gripping the silk roses she had received that day, the ribbons wrapped loosely around her hand. But most importantly, in the small amount of moonlight drifting in from the gap in the curtain, she looked peaceful. _That's good._

It had been hard, these few months, watching someone he loved so clearly in turmoil, regardless of what way he loved them. She'd grown harder, more distant and more reckless with her safety in a way that wasn't the usual Chika-goofing-off-irreverence he was familiar with, and he'd worried that one of these days she'd disappear off when 'death called' and would not come back.

It didn't help that there was no way to tell what had been pure stress, and what had been the Binding. How many times had he caught himself before going too far? How many times had he paused and realised that he was on the brink of a boundary he shouldn't be anywhere near? Still, now it looked like that she was back with them, and that was all that mattered.

"We'll be back soon." He told her in a whisper, before grabbing his dressing gown and putting it on, and then taking Arisa's own dressing gown and holding onto it tightly.

 _Now, where you could be?_

 **…**

When he opened the door and stepped out onto the roof, his panic was replaced with relief when he noticed Arisa across from the other side, only to be replaced with panic once again as he realised she was right by the railings, crouching down.

 _Okay, okay, calm down._

One step, and another, and another, and he gradually got closer to her, enough that he could see that she wasn't on the wrong side of the railings, and the hammering in his heart eased.

"Hiyama-Chan?" he asked.

"Walk away." She whispered thickly, without turning to him. "Walk away, please."

He didn't obey, but he didn't directly violate her orders by moving closer. Instead, he waited where he was.

"You're not talking about this immediate situation, are you?"

"No." the response was more a breath than a word, and Arisa remained gazing out at the night in front of them.

"Then, what are you talking about?"

 _I know, I just want you to say it._

"Walk away, please. Please, Jeff-kun." She said instead, finally turning around.

"Is that an order?" he asked evenly.

The answer didn't come straight away, and she just looked right at him with wide eyes, before eventually she dropped her gaze to her lap.

"No."

 _It's a plea, isn't it?_

"Well, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not leave. I don't want to."

"…Chi-Chan said that, too." Arisa sighed.

"And that's why you're asking me?"

"Yes." She frowned. "Is it that obvious?"

"To me, maybe." Kenjiro shrugged. "What's wrong? I know, you've been worried about Kato-Chan, but I can tell it's not that simple."

"What, are you psychic?" He could tell it was supposed to be a joke, but Arisa's voice was too exhausted for that to be so.

"Wish I was." He said simply. "But tell me, what's wrong? Actually, wait, could you come over here? The fact you're so close to the edge is creeping me out a little bit."

Arisa tilted her head, but then sighed again, before getting up and walking over to him, stopping right in front of him. The distance between them was almost non-existent, and he had to take a moment to remember to breathe. But he was fine with that, more than fine. _Ah, my heart._

"Less creeped out now?" she asked. He nodded, and handed her the dressing gown he'd been holding.

"Yeah."

Arisa looked down at it, and carefully took it from his hands and draping it over herself, tying it at the front in a careful bow.

"I forgot about this-silly me. "She remarked as she concentrated on the bow.

"Ah, it happens, but still. I wouldn't want you to get a cold, and it'd be trouble for the rest of us too, right?"

"I think I'm already causing trouble as a leader." Arisa responded bitterly. Kenjiro frowned.

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am." She hissed. "Or maybe I've done it already. I can't tell."

When she looked up, her eyes were full of tears, though none of them seemed like they were going to fall.

"What do you mean?" he asked, carefully.

"I thought I was doing the best I could with our situation. I really, really thought that this was what we needed to do. But I think I made a mistake. I was too busy thinking about what we would do to protect the school. I forgot about protecting _us_ , and now it's too late. "

"You're talking about the Binding."

"Yeah." Arisa nodded. "Yeah. I knew the risks, and yet, I went ahead with it and look what it's doing to us."

He didn't say anything to this, because what could he say? She was right. There was Chika, and how she'd been acting. Kotone had become mysterious and closed off, having taken to sleeping in the room of the dead and spending every spare minute she had working on the project she had revealed nothing about. It was hard to tell what changes in Kou were specifically down to the Binding and which ones were just grief, but he was definitely more spacey, and numb. Naoko seemed more irritable, and Rei more jittery and nervous. And he could feel the effects in himself, heavy and hard to carry around. They were all more angry, more quick to attack. Many of them hadn't seen their families or other friends since it all began, with the exception of the small group headed by Fukiko Inoue, who sometimes came by with clothing changes for some of them.

On the other hand, they were all aware of it. That, at least, was something. _But that doesn't make it better._

"…Well, I can't really deny that the Binding is a bad thing, but…that's not on you. "

"Yes, it is. I'm the leader of Niðavellir, I'm supposed to protect you, as well."

"And you're still trying to do that, aren't you? You haven't stopped doing that, right? So you're fine. And we're fine. I promise you, we're all fine."

 _I wish I had a solution for you, something to take the troubles away._

"Chi-Chan wasn't." Arisa said stubbornly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"No….but she's getting there, isn't she?"

"Yeah, but…" she looked down. "But…"

Kenjiro waited, waited for her to say what she was thinking, ready to do whatever he needed to do that would help her, even if just a little bit.

"God, I just want to scream." Arisa muttered after a moment, still staring down at her feet.

"Go ahead."

"What?" Arisa looked up wildly. "Was that serious?"

"Sure. Do you want me to stay, or to go?"

Arisa eyeballed him as if he'd grown two heads.

"I can't actually scream, can I?" she sighed. "Inoue-kun and Nakahara-kun will probably hear and think something's wrong."

"I…yes, that's a point, isn't it?" Kenjiro considered this, and he thought of something.

"What about a hug?"

This time, she looked at him as if he'd grown three heads, which he supposed was fair enough. He persisted anyway.

"It would muffle the sound." He explained. Arisa narrowed her eyes for a moment.

"That's….a weird suggestion to make. On the other hand, it's you, so it's nothing to worry about, either."

"Um, thanks."

"So…yeah, okay." Arisa shrugged. "Okay."

Kenjiro studied her for a moment, to be sure, and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, and closed his eyes. _This feels nice._

It took him a few moments to realise that she was crying. Even accounting for the fact that any noises she was making were now muffled, she barely made a sound. It was only because her shoulders were trembling slightly that he realised at all.

 _Oh. Hiyama-Chan._

He searched his mind for something comforting to say, something that would help, but he had nothing. It was as if his capacity for reassurance had just depleted. But he had to say something.

"It's okay, I'm here." _I love you._ But that was something he couldn't say. Not now, anyway. He'd made a promise to himself the moment he'd realised what his feelings were-that he would wait until graduation, until she was free from Niðavellir and all of its burdens to tell her. Not a moment before, not a moment after. Some might have called that evasion, but he didn't think that was so, not least because he knew exactly when he was telling her. He thought it a kindness, especially once she had been appointed the leader. And he had no trouble with it. _Your capacity for patience is astounding, just like your dad's_ , his mother had told him once, years before he'd even met Arisa. He was more than capable of waiting.

"It's okay, I'm here." He repeated again, patting her back softly. "It's okay."

 _But is it, really?_ With a sigh, he looked up at the sky above them, the stars quietly glittering in the patches of sky that weren't obscured by clouds. For a moment, he wished that he had Kou's ability, then he could ask the stars if it really would be okay, if they would be happy. If they would even make it to graduation so that he would confess. Niðavellir came with risk of death in the first place-their quarters had a whole room to remind them of this-but that risk had become tenfold since the summer. What would he do, if they didn't make it? It didn't matter whether she felt the same as him or saw him 'only' as a friend, he just wanted to be able to put voice to his feelings at the right time. And he wished he could ask the stars if his hopes could ever come true.

After a while, Arisa's tears seemed to start to dry up, and she stopped trembling. Eventually, she looked up, and stepped back. Kenjiro had the urge to hold her for a little longer, but he let her go, sticking his hands in his dressing gown pockets.

"Sorry, I think I've soaked your shirt." She murmured, wiping her eyes.

He looked down at his pyjama shirt. He had barely noticed, but she had indeed soaked it.

"It'll dry." He shrugged.

"Hmmm."

She looked away, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Are you feeling better now?" he pressed gently. Arisa shrugged hesitantly.

"I guess, a bit. But the problems are still there. I need to figure out what to do next, how to protect you all."

"We protect each other." Kenjiro said.

Arisa looked back at him, and tilted her head curiously.

"It's not just you, looking out for us. We look out for each other. Isn't that why Kato-Chan's sleeping right now, with those flowers?"

Her mouth opened slightly in surprise as she considered this, and she rubbed at her head.

"Yeah…"

Kenjiro chuckled at the look on her face.

"It's okay, I understand. Shall we go back now? Get some sleep before it's our turn to keep watch?"

"Yeah. Oh, and Jeff-kun?" Arisa looked up at him as they started to walk.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"Anything for you, Hiyama-Chan."

 _Yes, anything at all._ That was why he was waiting, after all. Perhaps there was no guarantee that they'd make it to graduation, but he would make sure that he did. That they did. And that was what would get him through this.

 **…**

 _Hanayo_

"Kawamura-san, if you don't mind me saying, I think you're a bit distracted."

Naoko's steps slowed, and she turned to gawp at Hanayo.

"I'm not distracted. What makes you think that?" she replied. Hanayo rubbed the back of her head absently and cringed.

"It…it's just a sense I got. I spoke out of turn, didn't I?"

"It's alright, you know, to say something if you think something's not right." Naoko shook her head. "Still, I'm not distracted."

"Oh. Okay. "Then _, what is it?_

Naoko's pace picked up again, and they continued their circuit of the school's inner courtyard in silence, crossing the path that connected the two parts of the school building and then back again. And all the time, Hanayo watched her year-mate, trying to work out what it was she had picked up on.

"So…are you upset?" she ventured.

Once again, Naoko slowed and gave Hanayo a look.

"I….stressed, I suppose." She admitted.

"What about?" Hanayo asked automatically. Naoko scrunched her face up.

"Well….let's just say I'm looking forward to graduation." She said eventually.

"Why?" Hanayo asked, even as she got the sense that this was an infinitely stupid question to have asked.

"Then I can be free of Niðavellir. I can get my life back. You can, too."

"Niðavellir _is_ my life."

"It won't be, always. Just a few months, and then you won't even be a student of this school."

"That's…that's impossible."

 _No, no. I always knew it was coming._ Of course she had. The few school lessons she hadn't been able to get out of attending, they had been talking about what to do out of school-university exams, jobs. She, of course, had no hope of getting into university, so she'd tuned all that out. But she'd barely listened to any of the career advice, either. She couldn't even see her life in the hours after graduating, let alone the days, weeks, months, years.

"That's impossible." She found herself repeating numbly. How could it be, that she had finally, finally found somewhere she really belonged, somewhere she had a purpose, and she'd be thrown out of it _again_? _Please, please no. Let me stay just a little longer, please._

She realised that Naoko was staring at her, and she felt her cheeks burn up. How silly she must look, panicking like a child realising that her mother was leaving her. How incomprehensible she must look, to this girl with a normal life, who had a future and a place to go-who had a _family_.

"You have nowhere to go, do you?" Naoko murmured softly. As far as Hanayo could tell, there didn't seem to be judgement in her look. _But there has to be, there always is._ Hanayo just shook her head.

"Not even any idea of what you want to do?"

"No." the word was painful to say, so painful, and she tightened the grip on her sword even more, to keep her anchored to the here and now. Naoko frowned at her.

"Let's stop a moment. If we go over there, we can still see pretty much the whole area." Naoko led the way to where she was pointing, and they leaned against the walls, looking out at their surroundings.

"So quite literally, once you're finished schooling, you have to leave? You're kicked out, just like that?"

"That's putting it a bit harshly, but yes." Hanayo replied.

"It is harsh." Naoko retorted. "But I can't imagine. I've not seen my parents or my siblings for ages, or even my uncle, but I know they'll be there for me when I need them. I can't even imagine not having that. Not having somewhere to go."

"Hmmm."

"What thoughts do you have, about the future?"

 _Dark, total dark, not even a few stars to light it. Spinning out of orbit, nothing to connect me to this world anymore._

"Maybe…..maybe I could stay here. Like Muraka-I mean, Shiho-san."

"Shiho's _cursed_. It's not really like she chose to stay here."

"It seems like the kindest curse to me. " Hanayo burst out. Naoko raised an eyebrow, and she shrunk.

"Sorry." she muttered.

"Bloody hell, you don't need to apologise for having feelings." Naoko huffed.

There was silence for a moment, and Hanayo thought that the conversation was over, when suddenly Naoko started to speak again.

"You know, don't you, that I want to be a police detective, like my uncle? I'm going to go into police training once we've graduated-I've already applied, and there are exams coming up, that I'll be going to-"

"What about the Binding?" Hanayo blurted out.

"I don't _care_ about that." Naoko scoffed, though her face twisted, just for a moment. _Perhaps it doesn't work on her as much. Or perhaps she would be strong enough to ignore it._ Hanayo couldn't deny that the Binding was sometimes like a physical pain. But if it kept her here and let her belong for a while longer, what did she care? If she was making a deal with the devil, as Naoko's friend had said months ago, then that was the price she had to pay for belonging, and she was more than ready.

 _But…_

"In any case," Naoko continued. "Once that's done, my brother has a flat-he's getting married next year and he's moving into a new house with his new wife so he can start a family. Which of course means he has no need for the flat, so he's said he'll give it to me, so I can live there while I'm training. I'm paying for some of the price out of my savings, but it'll be mine outright. And it's got enough space that I could have a roommate, if I wanted to. I'd be okay with you as a roommate."

"I….me?" Hanayo's brain took a while to catch up with what Naoko was talking about. "Me, live with you?"

"It's a thought." Naoko responded ambiguously.

"I….but what do I do?"

"Join the police, like me?" when Hanayo just gaped at her, Naoko smiled slightly. "It would suit you, I think. There are rules, a hierarchy. You enforce the law, you carry out justice, you protect and serve. It would be like this, what we do here, but wider, because the people you're vowing to serve are the citizens of this town. There are restrictions, it's not 'by any means possible' the way Niðavellir is, but that's probably a good thing. It would suit you, if you were interested."

"I…." She was starting to see it, and almost hated herself for it. "Didn't you say that you'd already applied? Doesn't that make it too late?"

"No. There's still time-the later application cycle."

"And….and this would be the future?" Hanayo tentatively asked.

"It would open it up to you, certainly." Naoko agreed. "When we change shifts, I'll show you the information-I've got stuff my uncle emailed me saved to my phone."

"I….I….."

 _What, what do I say? What am I meant to think of this?_

"If I did do this, can I say it's you?"

"What?"

"If I took your suggestion and then get asked, 'what made you want to join the police' can I say that it was you, like you'd probably say that it was your uncle that inspired you?" she explained.

There was a beat of silence after she said this, and once again she had the distinct sense that she had said something stupid. But to her surprise, it was Naoko whose cheeks seemed to be red.

"Well, if that's the truth, then there's no reason for you to not say it." She answered.

"Okay."

Naoko didn't respond, and Hanayo wondered what to say. _Was I stupid, after all?_ It was true, after all. She _wanted_ to be like Naoko, so sure of her future and the life she led and her place in the world. And had she not been the one to just suggest the idea? If that wasn't inspiration, what was? _But…._

She was about to suggest they start circuiting again, when suddenly, Naoko whipped around and looked up at the sky. Hanayo followed her gaze but saw nothing at first. Then, a few seconds later, Chika appeared, mid-flight, transformed, though she wasn't carrying her scythe. When she landed in front of her though, she could see the silk roses in the younger girl's hair.

"You-get everyone, you have to come!" Chika burst out, out of breath and messy as she pointed somewhere ahead.

Hanayo exchanged a look with Naoko, and they both nodded. Naoko ran off back inside the building to rouse the others, and Hanayo watched her- _the future-_ do so for just a tiny moment before turning to Chika.

"Show me."

 **…**

 _Arisa_

When she came around, she realised someone was carrying her. Holding her, as if she was little more than a child, as they walked, the slight bobbing motion making her feel calm, even as she started to wake up a little more, and her body started to ache, and the memories of what had led her up to this point began to flood back in. _Who's carrying me?_ She couldn't quite tell, the torn white shirt of the person carrying her didn't offer any clues, and she was still too tired to look up at their face. Sighing quietly, she shifted slightly, resting her head against the person's shoulder again.

"Oh, Hiyama-Chan, you're awake."

Startled out of her exhaustion, she looked up to see Jeff's face smiling down at her. Though his eyes were as soft as they usually were, they were also slightly red, and his expression was a little too eager. Too relieved. And then she remembered.

 _It's okay, you're safe. Please hold on, I love you._

Those words, repeated over and over again, sometimes in different orders, but the meaning the same each time. A spell, except there was no magic to it. It had worked, in any case. _But…_ there were things that she would need to ask him about the words he had chosen. Why he had chosen them. It wouldn't be now, but it would happen. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but right now she was tired, he was warm, and there were more important things to worry about.

"Yeah…I must have scared you, huh? How's everyone else? "

"Ah, we're all fine, Ari!" Chika said cheerily, seeming to suddenly appear. "Took a bit of a beating, though you got the worst of it. "

"I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's fine. " Chika scoffed. "Well, not fine, but Abe-san managed to get to you in time, and you're alright."

"Hmm…."

"Ah-you might still be feeling a little achy, Hiyama-san." Arisa heard Sanae say. "I focused only on the more severe injuries, so I could conserve my energy in case someone in the other group needs help…"

"Don't worry about it, Abe-san, that was the right thing to do."

"Inoue-kun's carrying her now," Jeff murmured to her.

"Mhm." Arisa sighed. Then:

"Are _you_ alright?"

"Yes, I am. I'd say 'don't worry about me', but I know that's not gonna work out so well, but even so."

 _It's okay, you're safe. Please hold on, I love you._

"I'll try." She eventually said, after searching his face for some trace of those feelings, and not seeing them. _Are we all hiding?_ It was not fair if he was, but who could blame him? This situation they were in, it pushed everything out.

 _Hopefully though, it will end._

"Chi-Chan, how far are we?"

"Well, we've been walking in fields for ages, but we should be meeting up with the other group soon enough."

"Oh, alright."

They continued walking in silence. It was night time, and so it was dark, but the night was clear and the moon was high in the sky, so she could still see what was ahead of her. And indeed, they were still in fields. _We're so far from Asgard. Will the Binding lead us back, or will we get there through our own efforts?_ She knew which one she wanted it to be, but also knew that there was no way to be sure that would be so. _But I will be, soon._ The battle they'd just had was not the last one they would ever have, she knew that. But this particular set of ordeals was coming to an end, she was sure of it. And though she would gladly serve Asgard Academy until she graduated next year, she would be so glad to end this particular battle. Because after this, things would be _different_. They would be better, and perhaps the shadows surrounding them all would dissipate, and stay away forever. _No, they will, I'll make it so._ It was her duty, as Niðavellir's current leader, to make it so.

"Is that them, approaching?" she asked, lifting a hand to point in the direction of a small cluster in the distance. Chika made a noise of surprise and peered into said distance.

"Yeah, it seems like it. Shall I call out?"

"Go ahead." Arisa agreed. _It's not as if anyone else is around, after all…_

"GUYS! We're over here!" Chika yelled out, making Arisa wince slightly.

"Oh, so it is you!" a voice called out.

It took Arisa a moment to identify that it was Kou's. The group sped up, and as they got closer they became more district to her. To her surprise, it was not Kou heading up the group, but Kotone. In her new transformation outfit-not so much a dress as it was swathes of delicate silk held together and criss-crossing her body-and the magical jewellery that Haru had devised for her, she was no longer a fresh-faced popstar, but something more ethereal, more dangerous. It made Arisa think of Freyja, beautiful and formidable. It scared her.

"Oh, you made it back safely! I'm so glad." Kotone exclaimed, and suddenly she was herself again. _You're still you, that's something._

"I'm glad that you're all back, too. Is anyone in need of immediate medical attention?"

"No, no, just a few bruises and stuff, but nothing that can't wait." Kotone reassured.

"Yes, we're all fine." Rei reassured.

"Good, good. "

"Leader, you're hurt though?" Hanayo asked in concern, Naoko close by her side and silently emitting the same feeling. The rest of Kotone's group just stared at her, and Arisa felt her cheeks heat up-it was, after all, somewhat embarrassing to be carried around when you were supposed to be the leader. She cleared her throat and decided to brazen her way through the feeling.

"I took a major hit, yes. Let's keep moving, I'll explain everything that happened. Suzuki-Chan, you can explain what happened on your end too, okay?"

"Sure!" there was a flash of the Freyja side of her, even as she smiled, but it disappeared.

"Give me a mo, I'll fly up and see which way we have to go." Chika said quickly, leaping up before anyone could protest. Out of what Arisa knew to be a reflex, Chika turned invisible for a short moment before she reappeared and landed neatly back next to Jeff, ponytail fluttering slightly even once she was on the ground.

"Alright, straight ahead." She pointed in the direction they'd been walking before they'd found the other group, and they started to move.

As they moved, both groups explained how their battles had gone, exchanged what information they'd known, and formulated strategies on what to do next. Arisa mentally compiled a list of questions she would ask Shiho, who'd stayed behind to look after the school building while they'd drawn the enemy away, added that list to the large list of all the different things she needed to do for Niðavellir in general. And she stared at all of them, looking for any hint of them not being themselves, studying them for any sign of danger, to make sure they didn't slip back into the darkness that had threatened all of them.

Suddenly, though, there was a loud bang, and they all skidded to a halt. Jeff almost stumbled, but much to Arisa's relief managed to steady himself.

"W-what was that?" Emiko stammered as another noise followed it, and another, and another. Everyone huddled closer together, someone placed a hand on Arisa's shoulder and gripped it in fear, their breathing quickened as they tried to figure it out.

"A gun?!" Naoko gasped.

 _No, no, it can't be. That doesn't make any sense…..besides, why is there all this brightness?_

"Guys, guys, look up!" Sora called out.

"What, why?!" Hiroto asked.

"Look!" Sora insisted. And so, they all did, only to see blooms of colour burst out of the sky and unfurl, glittering brilliantly before fading after a single moment, replaced by yet another, and another.

"Fireworks?" Atsuya asked. "Why are there fireworks now?"

"That's a good question, actually." Arisa mused, looking up at them. Red, blue, pink, green, gold, and more colours besides that, ones she could not quite name.

 _So pretty…._

"Oh!" Kotone gasped suddenly.

"What?" Haru demanded grumpily.

"It's New Year's Day!" she cried out.

"Ohhh." Naoko, Rei, Kou and Atsuya said in unison. _Oh,_ Arisa thought.

"New Year's Day, huh?" Jeff murmured.

"Yeah. How did we not know that?" Arisa asked. No answer came, which was good, because she didn't need one. She already knew how.

They all stood there, clustered together. And though she could sense they had all relaxed now they'd worked out there was no danger, they still remained together, all touching. Chika slung one arm lazily around Jeff's shoulders, her fingertips curling around one of Arisa's ponytails and tugging slightly. She could feel some of the others pressed in around the three of them, and even observed that Naoko and Hanayo's hands were tightly intertwined, though curiously it looked like neither of them had realised this themselves.

"We're invisible." She heard Kotone breathe. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she didn't ask.

"Like we're the only ones in the world right now, or something." Haru commented.

"Yes, exactly."

 _The only ones, huh? It feels like that, sometimes. Certainly, we're the only ones in this world._ And though she knew everyone would be seeing these fireworks right now, one way or another, they were the only ones doing so like this. They were the only ones viewing them from this place. They were invisible, the only ones in this world.

 _Huh, so I do get it._

Arisa turned her face to the sky continued to erupt with colour and sound. _So beautiful._ And the fact that they were all there, standing like this to watch it made it even more so. _It's New Year's day._ The start of another year. A new beginning.

 _But where do I begin with this new beginning?_

A cluster of silvery fireworks faded away, and just for a moment revealed the stars in all their glory, before a set of pink and purple ones exploded and overshadowed them. And then, she had an idea.

"Kurosawa-kun?" she called, raising her voice slightly. After a moment, he responded.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever read the stars from underneath fireworks?"

Since he was somewhere behind her, she couldn't see his expression, but the hesitation told her a lot. Eventually though, there was a sigh.

"I've never tried before."

"Could you try now, please?"

"I….what do you want to ask?"

"Erm….." Arisa trailed off, and bit her lip.

"I'm guessing something like whether we'll manage to get through this." Chika suggested after a moment.

"If we'll ever leave." Naoko put in at the exact same time.

There was an awkward silence at this.

"What?" Naoko huffed defensively. "Hasn't anyone else wondered if this Binding will end up being for _life_ , instead? Doesn't anyone else want to leave?"

 _Yes, I have, and I do. I'm sorry, Kawamura-sempai._

"That still doesn't sound like the right question to ask, though." Jeff pointed out.

"So….?" Kou asked hesitantly.

Arisa thought again. She glanced over at Chika, who caught her eye and grinned in her familiar and comforting way. She looked back up at Jeff for a moment. _It's okay, you're safe. Please hold on, I love you._ And then, back to the fireworks.

"Ask the stars if there's any hope left for us."

"Ah….sure, okay."

A silence descended again, this one thicker and more serious. She had seen Kou read the stars before, so she could picture the way he was looking up and concentrating. The moments ticked by without a word, and then she heard him let out a breath that sounded halfway like a sob. But she waited for the answer.

"It's….not very clear, exactly. But…" Kou eventually spoke up.

"Yeah?"

 _Please, please._ Kou hesitated again, and the pause was the longest she'd ever been in. But then, the answer came:

"The answer is yes."

* * *

 **And whoooo, finally, here is part 2B. I'm going to leave this fic as 'in progress' for now, given that round 3 hasn't ended yet (I don't think), but for now, this is basically complete. Honestly have no idea if anyone is even reading this, but if you are, I hope you enjoyed this. And if so inclined, please leave a review!**

 **Ah, also, the note bit that was initially in part 1, as promised:**

 **To quickly explain some of the terminology I used. In this world, magic is commonplace, and every school teaches it to some extent, though some only teach the basics, as a sort of side lesson, and others have magic as their priority (like Asgard Academy). Some parents who are either specialists or mahou shoujo also like to pass on their skills to their children as a family tradition, regardless of how skilled they end up being. And as such, there are different ranks/grades of magic proficiency that a person might have in this world. So:**

 **-Though 'civilian' and 'basic' are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, a civilian is someone who genuinely has no ability for magic whatsoever, no matter what they are taught, whereas a basic can pick up the basics such as what would be taught in a school that either wasn't a magic-based school or one that was specifically for those not proficient in magic. However, a basic would not be able to go much beyond that, would not have a particular domain of magic they were skilled in, and their skills are not the strongest, either.**

 **-A 'specialist' is someone who can pick up more magic beyond the basics, and can specialise in a particular domain of magic. Specialists can become very proficient, and as far as skill and strength go sometimes it can be hard to distinguish a very experienced specialist from an actual** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **with the same sort of magic. Sometimes, someone who has been thought of as a specialist is actually a** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **, but they won't realise this until the right situation reveals it, as with Kotone. However, specialists do not have the innate inclination that** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **have towards magic-all their skills are purely, 100% learnt, and they build up their skills a lot more slowly and with much less intensity than a** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **would. That, and they would only be adequate at best in learning other magic types that fall out of the remit of their particular domain.**

 **-A** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **is basically the best of the best in terms of magic, and they often have an innate inclination (though this doesn't mean it always runs in families) towards magic anyway, which means they are drawn to magic with an intensity and skill that can be fearsome. Chika would probably explain** _ **mahou shoujo**_ **as being 'specialists with skates on' which is a little over simplistic but generally apt. They are also a lot more adaptable to learning other types of magic as a result, so they could be a mahou shoujo who has alchemy magic, and then later also become a specialist in precognitive magic. The Japanese term is used worldwide in this universe regardless of what language is actually being spoken, and it is understood that the term is gender neutral despite it literally meaning 'magic girl'.** **  
** **And based on this, Asgard Academy only accepts specialists or mahou shoujo into their student body. And Niðavellir is solely formed of mahou shoujo.**


End file.
